will the starlights in the night sky look the same where you are?
by kingofpythons
Summary: With no clan to their name and no other plan to fall back on, Kova is granted refuge at Camp Jaha. However the Arkers want a scapegoat for their missing and/or dead children, no matter how much this grounder claims they helped the delinquents.
1. could it be that we've changed?

**October 12, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Delinquent's Campsite**

In Kyongedon culture, fire was the element of new beginnings, a way to settle old disputes and end one's pain to move on. Fire had no mind of its own, no bias to worry of. All it cared about was growing and feeding off whatever it could.

This was no different.

The stench of burnt flesh mixed with wood (and for some reason, a slight hint of chemicals) burned in their nose. Kova realized they were laying on the floor, eyes unfocused but aimed to the foxhole a few meters to the right. The world was blurry when they finally sparked awake, as if falling unconscious also knocked their vision around.

Their entire body flinched when something unexpectedly rough but lightweight smacked right into their cheek. They took hold of the twig and examined it for a moment, stuck in a strange daze from the recent events.

 _Crack!_

Their vision switched from the twig in their hand to where the sound came from. A dead branch snapped away from its tree and bumped into other branches as it fell, growing bigger and bigger—

" _Shit!"_

Kova managed to roll away just as the enormous branch landed where they were a few seconds ago, the ends of its twigs still bright orange and singed from the fire. The kyongedon grunted and squirmed at the feeling of something poking them in the rib and reached underneath, pulling out a familiar pair of goggles.

They could see him, as if they were back in the foxhole. Jasper's eyes, dark, unfocused, lifeless, his body slumped against the wall, the spear forever embedded into his heart. Kova could _feel_ the blood rush away from their face, leaving a blanched paleness behind. They sat up slowly, wearily, eyes never leaving the goggles until they slid it up their arm to hold onto. ' _Monty would want this.'_

Looking up and around, it seemed like the fire spilled a bit over the wall. All they could see were the dead trees that had fallen or were crumbling into nothing. It was even worse than the first time the delinquents landed here.

The branch that almost crushed their body gave Kova the strength (and adrenaline) to stand up and climb through the foxhole. They purposely ignored any ashes they stepped on, knowing some were most likely Jasper's.

By the time they reached the other end of the foxhole, all they could do was weakly tumble out and drop to the ground, their weapons clanking against the armor. ' _I haven't eaten or drank water since yesterday, exhaustion must've taken me out.'_ They reasoned, bringing a hand up to push the hair from their face.

Their inside of their hand was stark white.

Nausea settled in the back of their throat when they realized why. The dust and ashes of the dead warriors created a hill to the dropship, although there were a few skeletons that maintained their shape. The sweat gathering at their palm allowed the ashes to stick on. Their breathing slowed down, as if breathing as little as possible would prevent the ashes from entering their body.

To make matters worse, the dropship door was open.

"No way." Kova spoke breathlessly, scrambling up the hill on all fours until they reached the metal door. ' _There's no way someone got in before the launch, why is it open?!'_ Stumbling onto their feet they stood in front of the door but hesitated on entering. The curtains were gone, revealing an empty first floor. The worst possibilities came up in Kova mind. "Hello? Anyone here?"

"Kova?" A dry, raspy voice came from deep inside the dropship.

"Raven!" Kova perked up at hearing their friend's voice, but the warrior inside kept them from sprinting to where the voice came from. Instead of taking the quick route, they kept a hand on their sword and went around the crates, only to find Raven laying on the floor with a gun just within arms reach.

"I can't feel my legs." Raven said, turning her head to face them. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what to do."

Kova crouched and wiped the tears off silently. ' _This is all Murphy's fault.'_ Briefly, they wished Bellamy didn't stop them from killing the murderer. But this was no time for that. They looked around the dropship before turning back to Raven. "Where is everyone?"

"The last thing I remember was everyone stepping outside. I don't know what happened, they left me in here." She winced at the growing pain and pressure in her lower back. "What do we do?"

"I… I don't know. I don't want to move you without a stretcher. If I carry you I might cause some serious damage if the bullet is in your spine." Kova gnawed on their bottom lip. "I can make a stretcher and drag you somewhere safe, but there would be a lot of friction and a lot more bumps. It's not a good idea."

"Leave me here."

"...what?"

"Leave me here." Raven spoke with a bit more force this time. "You survived the blast, right? There must be others. Go look for them, then you can come back for me."

"And just leave you defenseless?!" Kova shook their head. "It's not happening."

"I have a gun." She motioned to the weapon by her side. "It's better than nothing."

It was the last thing they wanted to do, but the kyongedon also knew Raven was right. Kova couldn't think of another plan, and Raven certainly can't move at all with the amount of pain she was in. "Here, take this just in case I lose it." They slid Jasper's goggles off their arm and handed it to her.

"These are Jasper's." Raven said while taking them. "Is he…"

"Spear to the heart. I didn't see it happen though, I saw it before everything went up in flames." Kova informed her as they pushed the gun closer to Raven, eye contact unwavering. "Stay here and play dead. If someone comes, shoot them on sight."

* * *

"Bellamy, get out of here!"

The problem with being in a dense forest was the fact that the trees bounced noise off of each others' surface, making it almost impossible to find the source. Finn's voice was no different, but Kova was determined to find him and potentially Bellamy. They sprinted past the trees and hopped over branches and roots until they could see a break illuminating the forest line.

By the time Kova made it, Finn and Bellamy's hands were tied to the saddle of a horse by rope, their wrists red from the friction and their faces freely bleeding and swollen.

"Don't fall behind or he'll kill you." Finn said lowly to Bellamy, avoiding the eyes of the owner of the horse.

Tristan.

Eyes darkening, Kova quietly slipped the sword out of its sheath and hid behind the tree for the right moment. Tristan walked up to the horse, ready to mount it with his back turned away from them.

' _Perfect.'_

Just as they ran out from their hiding spot, sword up and ready to strike down, Tristan's attention was alerted to the right where two other sky people sprinted out of their spots to try and save Bellamy and Finn. He dropped down from the footstep of the saddle, but his attention was directed to Kova instead.

They felt the shiver run up their spine (in fear? Adrenaline? It was hard to tell.) but refused to let it show. Without hesitation, they fluidly swung the sword down. The block was expected now that their cover was blown, but the force of Tristan's twin daggers against their sword threw them off balance.

There was a strange feeling of deja vu when Kova's foot slid back from the mud.

" _Even the Earth, the very thing that gives us life, can kill us in battle. Fighting against others is easier than fighting against the elements, remember that!"_

Indra's lesson from a month ago. They lost to Lincoln that day — they had a minor slip up in the mud, and that would have cost them their life. ' _Use the elements to your advantage, huh?'_

So they did.

They let their knee drop into the ground and switched sword hands while Tristan raised his arms, ready to deliver the final blow until Kova swung their arm around, scooping up a handful of mud and smushing it right into his face.

With a shout, Tristan instinctively dropped his weapons and brought his hands to his face, frantically wiping the mud from his eyes. He took a few steps back only to stop. A disgusted and painful shiver ran through his entire body. Tristan cracked an eye open, looking down to see the edge of Kova's sword peeking through his abdomen.

The ex-warrior had gone around and stabbed him through the back, just in case he still tried to stab them.

They pulled out their sword slowly, agonizing, just so he would feel the pain and his life leave his body. "For my brother you abandoned when he needed you."

Tristan collapsed to the floor like a puppet with their strings cut off.

They flicked the sword to the side and wiped off the remaining blood on Tristan's pants. After taking Tristan's twin daggers, Kova turned around and scoffed. All four sky people were standing there, stunned at what they witnessed. "Monroe, Sterling, you could have helped you know." They teased to the two as they headed towards Bellamy and Finn. Flustered, they were about to defend themselves when Kova held their hand up. "I was joking, it was better you two didn't. Tristan's unpredictable."

They used one of Tristan's daggers to slice through the rope around their wrist, wordlessly starting with Finn then moving onto Bellamy. Once his restraints came off, Kova hovered the back of their hand over his facial wounds with a grimace on their face, but didn't dare touch him. Bellamy's eyes flickered between Kova's hand and their face, showing a hint of surprised that they were worried about him. It must've been obvious because by the time he was about to speak they had already dropped their hand. "He didn't even lay a hand on you, huh?"

There was a twitch at the corner of his lips. Bellamy knew he must've looked like a hot mess, he could see how swollen his cheek was without even looking in the mirror. The burning of the cuts where blood and dirt mixed into his wounds wasn't helping either. "Right."

One moment, Kova was in front of him, the corner of their lips quirked up in a teasing smile.

In the next, as if something knocked into them they stumbled right into Bellamy, chest to chest, their head falling limp onto his shoulder. It was only when he heard the gunshot ringing in the air and something warm seeping into his shirt did he understand what happened.

"No, don't shoot!" Bellamy instinctively brought his arms up to keep Kova from collapsing. He didn't even know who it was, but if they had a gun he reasoned the person would be a sky person. "They're an ally, they helped us!"

He mentally thanked Finn for stepping in between the two and the gunner. Finn raised his hands up to appease whoever had the gun, his voice becoming part of the background as Bellamy focused on Kova. He could tell they couldn't hold up their own weight — they were leaning on him more and more and their legs began to tremble. "Here, let me just…"

Bellamy kept an arm on their back as he helped Kova lay down on the floor, their hand pressed against their side. He sat by them on his knees. "I think it just grazed me." They grunted out, bringing their hand up. Blood covered their palm entirely. To Bellamy's surprise, a pained grin appeared on their face. "Bellamy, be honest. Do you see any intestines hanging out?"

"Stop joking around." He spoke gruffly, pushing the hand back to the wound. Kova hissed, but kept the pressure there. While they kept their eyes on the sky and taking deep breaths, Bellamy lifted his head to see Finn speaking with...speaking with Kane?

He almost wanted to ask if he had a concussion from the beating and was seeing things but thought better of it. Kova's weird humor was rubbing off on him.

As if he sensed Bellamy looking at him, Kane turned his head to give Bellamy a questioning look. It must be weird, seeing him next to a groun— kyongedon, but he wasn't going to leave them any time soon. Behind Kane, guards were building a makeshift stretcher. Kova took notice as well and called out to them. "Hey!" Kane and Finn turned their heads toward them, as did the guards. It seemed like the new sky people were surprised they were speaking English. "Make another stretcher, Raven Reyes is still in the drop ship."

"What do you mean?" An unfamiliar voice asked Kova, they couldn't exactly get up and see who it was. "What happened to Raven?"

"That's Abby Griffin." Bellamy spoke quietly to Kova, keeping his eyes on Abby and Kane. "She's Clarke's mother."

"Oh. She's going to love me then, no? I _did_ save Clarke from death at least three times." What should have been the same quirk of the lips seemed forced this time from the pain of their side. He almost considered telling them to stop pretending, but Kova switched their attention to Abby. "She was shot and the bullet moved into her spine, I found her after the battle ended."

After hearing the news, Kane went off to talk to some other man while Finn and Abby stepped closer. "Is everyone else okay?"

"I'm not sure, they're all missing."

"...what?"

"Everyone else is missing. Raven is the only one there. I have no idea where they went."

* * *

After explaining what happened, Kova was moved onto a stretcher while Kane and his squadron took a moment to formulate a plan. Bellamy and Finn's weapons were taken from them, and Kova ended up getting the same treatment. They even took their sword — which was surprisingly heavy, one of the gunners had to find a comfortable way to hold onto it for the journey — and their new twin daggers.

Finn and Bellamy were ordered to carry Kova's stretcher while giving directions to the front gunners — Finn in the front while latter took the back. From this angle Bellamy could clearly see where the bits of their leather armor was ripped off by the bullet.

Abby had given the ex-warrior a piece of cloth to hold pressure against the wound. Whether it was from the blood loss, the pain, or just recent events, Kova was fading in and out of the conversation. There would be times where they would listen to what the new sky people were talking about and times where they could hear words being said, but not focusing on what they were saying.

"...[any]thing more from Jaha?"

The familiar name brought their attention back. "Jaha?" They asked softly, shifting around in the moving stretcher in order to sit up.

"Don't even think about it." Bellamy warned, motioning for Kova to lay back down with a nod of his head. They were about to roll their eyes, but the pain from their side made them think twice. Kova did as told, laying back down but this time with their head facing Abby.

Her eyes were wide, as if she was shocked Kova knew the name. This was the first time they had seen the brunette, but something about the woman just screamed 'Clarke's mother' to them. Maybe the hair?

"Jaha, as in Wells' father?" Abby continued to stare at them in shock. ' _Maybe she's still confused how I know English? Every new sky person reacted the same way. Or maybe—'_

"Yes. Do you know who Wells was?"

"Was? He should still be alive, no?"

Kane whipped his head around so quickly Kova could practically feel the wind from it. "What are you talking about? He died after a few days on the ground." His voice came from Finn's side, but the kyongedon couldn't see him.

"The last time I saw Wells he was in the drop ship with Clarke and the others. Wherever Clarke is, I'm sure he's with her."

"Wells is alive…?" Abby's voice was quiet, but there was no hiding the disbelief behind it.

"Did you think he was dead?"

"Yes. Everyone thought Wells was dead. It's why…" He trailed off, but Abby finished his sentence for him. "It's why Thelonious Jaha, Wells' father, stayed on the Ark."

* * *

' _It's always silent down here, there's never any background machinery noise or anything. But now it's too quiet.'_ Finn thought as he set down the stretcher slowly with Bellamy. Kane had already gone inside with a group of gunners, leaving two behind to babysit the three of them.

Finn sat down on top of a rock, eyes unfocused but still _seeing_ , if that made any sense. He could see what was going on, he could see Kova was still breathing as they laid on the stretcher, he could see Bellamy squatting nearby and talking with them for a bit before he got up. But it didn't feel like he was paying attention. He was gradually getting lost in his thoughts, something that happened more frequent now and days. Ever since he—

There was blood all over his hands.

He could feel the liquid smoothing his hands, the blood drying as it thinned towards his wrists.

" _Finn?"_

How many grounders did he kill? Not just during the battle, but before?

" _Finn?"_

Did he kill more people? Would he if it was necessary?

"Finn!"

The boy looked up.

' _Oh.'_

Bellamy was trying to get his attention. Finn didn't realize until the man was calling for him, standing by the guardsmen who he was trying to persuade to let them in. Finn stood up, realizing Bellamy was waiting for his response. "You okay?" Bellamy asked, concerned etched into his face.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." At least that's what he was telling himself.

"Kova told me the foxholes are still usable. If they won't let us in, we can sneak through there. Sounds like a plan?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Not sleeping enough was taking its toll on Kova. They kept dozing off, stuck laying down on the stretcher because of their fresh injury. ' _As if my leg wasn't bad enough.'_

But no matter how deep they could fall asleep, they were always easy to awaken. They almost shot up when they felt the stretcher being picked up, but the pain kept them from doing so. "Where are we going?"

"Inside."

"...[wait,] you don't understand. Murphy murdered two of our people. He shot another one. He tried to hang Bellamy!"  
"I don't care. You are not animals. There are rules. Laws. You are not in control here anymore."

"Shouldn't you care if one of your kids are murdering people left and right?" Kova spoke without thinking, but they didn't bother to try and take it back.

From their angle, they couldn't see Bellamy on the floor with a guard clipping handcuffs on his wrists, nor did they notice Murphy on the side getting treated for his injuries. It was smart he kept quiet to try and stay hidden. His shoulder blade ached and twitched at the sight of the grounder.

"The last time I heard about you grounders was that you were all picking off these kids one by one. Should you really be talking?" Kane asked as he walked up to the stretcher, holding a strange cylinder object in his hands.

"Your kids murdered 300 Trikru warriors where you're standing." Their voice suddenly became hostile, cold. Kane briefly looked down to his ash-covered shoes. Just as he was about to talk, Kova cut him off. "They also set a village on fire, killing off more than a hundred people and burning down a major library. That was before we even made contact. Don't act like you know what happened down here."

It was obvious Kane was taken aback. Luckily for him, a distraction came along. Two guardsmen came out of the dropship carrying a stretcher with a young woman on it. "Raven!" Kova exclaimed, immediately trying to sit up. They gave up quickly when a shock of pain shot up their side.

"She's lost a lot of blood." Abby came up to them, Finn on her heels. "It's a miracle that she's still alive. There's no one else in there. Come on. Let's get going."

* * *

 **October 12, Year 214  
** **Forbidden Trikru Territory,** **Mount Weather Bunker**

If someone had told Harper she would be in charge of the 46 that survived in Mount Weather, she would have scoffed and reject the idea. However Clarke's… unexpected appearance and her attempt to leave created a frenzy in Mount Weather. Wells had to speak with Prez. Dante Wallace in order to explain the situation and left Harper to keep an eye on the remaining delinquents.

"He wasn't in the dropship, Harper. Does that mean I might've killed him?"

This also meant helping the others come to terms with what happened at the battle.

"I'm sure he escaped if he couldn't make it to the dropship in time." She reasoned, rubbing her hand soothingly on his back. Monty was hunched over in his chair, the palms of his hands pressed against his forehead, eyes red and itchy from crying for so long. Ever since he was told Jasper wasn't in Mount Weather, he had been going around asking all the delinquents if they had seen him inside the dropship when they launched.

So far, no one had seen him.

He relaxed for a few hours, but it seemed like Clarke almost pulling the emergency door lever triggered his nerves once again. Not knowing what happened to his friend was gnawing at his very soul, leaving him with holes.

The two were sitting in a small secluded table at the corner of the main room, avoiding everyone else until Monty had calmed down.

"I'm the one who pulled that lever." Monty spoke quietly, more to himself rather than Harper. "Did I kill him?"


	2. don't let the guards know

**October 13, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

* * *

The walk back to camp was silent. Everyone was stuck in their own thoughts while they kept a lookout for any danger, as if on autopilot At the very front of the group Kane made a habit of looking back to check up on the group. He was more worried about how the Arkers would react to recent events. The small set of the surviving delinquents had no information on where the rest of their people were, and neither did their… newest member.

He glanced back again, his eyes landing upon the grounder in the stretcher. Kova kept a hand pressed against the gunshot wound, visibly wincing every time the stretcher jostled a bit too much. There was no pang of regret or sympathy in Kane's chest. Seeing Finn and Bellamy battered and tied up, a body on the floor in a puddle of blood, and the other two delinquents Monroe and Sterling looking terrified as shit? The scene didn't exactly make sense, but Kane didn't know if the grounder was going to slice the ties around their wrists or slice them open. If Kane could go back in time…?

He would most certainly still shoot them. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't anything personal. But in the last contact Kane and Thelonious had with the delinquents, neither Clarke nor Bellamy mentioned having one of _those grounders_ on their side. That was only a week and a half ago on Unity Day, so what could have possibly happened within that week? More importantly, how was he going to explain to the Arkers why they brought a grounder into their camp, their new safe haven?

"We're here." One of the guards announced as they grew closer to the tree line, sunlight beaming through the branches and trunks. "Before we go in," Kane announced to the group. "Abby will take you three to medical." He motioned to Raven, Murphy, and Finn. "Byrne, take Bellamy to the temporary cell."

"What?!" Bellamy exclaimed, struggling away from Byrne's grip to no avail. He only calmed down — albeit reluctantly — when the Major moved her hand to rest on the electric baton on her hip, an unspoken warning. "Sir, what about…this one?" Byrne jutted her head, a gesture to the grounder on the stretcher. The Major would never admit this, but she couldn't even look at the grounder, whose eyes were dark and sharp, flickering between Byrne's hands and Bellamy. There was just something _off_ about them that made the Major cautious, even if she was well prepared for anything.

"They have to come with me." Abby's voice came out strong and unwavering. "Abby." Kane's stern voice set her off. "No Marcus, they're injured! They can't do anything for you if they bleed out and die."

"Heal me to throw me into a torture session, huh? Sounds like someone I know." Kova muttered under their breath. There was a brief moment of silence as Kane considered his options. He released a heavy sigh and faced the guards. "Take the grounder to medical. Make sure none of the other Arkers try to hurt them."

It was a smart call. The moment the group broke the tree line and entered the camp, the Arkers swarmed around the group to see who they brought back. They cheered as they saw the familiar delinquents, but the celebration died down quickly when the guards brought in a grounder with tattoos on their face, unfamiliar thick clothing and weapon holsters too big to fit a gun.

" _Is that a grounder?"_

" _So you all saved and brought an enemy, but couldn't find the rest of our kids?!"_

As Kane predicted, a mob formed quickly as more guards joined and formed a protective circle under Kane's orders. ' _I bet those guards would want to throw things at me too though.'_ The kyongedon thought darkly as objects flew over their heads, explicit profanities included. "Well, you guys are more welcoming than Trikru if they had captured me." Kova spoke, throwing a grin in Abby's direction by their side.

* * *

 **October 13, Year 2149  
** **Forbidden Trikru Territory,** **Mount Weather Bunker**

Ever since the lever incident, Clarke felt eyes on her with every move she made. The guards were especially cautious around her lately, like one wrong move and she would irradiate the entire bunker. ' _Well, maybe they weren't exactly wrong.'_

"It's not bad. Maybe they'll hang it on the walls here one day."

The darker thoughts were thrown back into her mental chest as Clarke practically jumped at the voice by her ear. Wells stood there leaning against the railing of her bed. Just as she was about to respond, Monty ran past him when Maya and a familiar face popped in.

"Miller!" Wells' lips formed a smile. "Look who _finally_ got released."

"Hey." Miller raised a hand, a boyish smile on his face.

"Miller. I'm glad you're okay." Clarke returned the smile, tossing the diagram away and throwing her legs over the bed.

"Yeah. Only took, what, 3 surgeries?" A light laugh passed his lips as he glanced between Maya and Clarke. "I hear you're fitting right in."

The two girls awkwardly glanced at each other before Maya shook her head and passed Miller an orange bottle of pills. "Twice a day. Don't forget. You'll be okay in a few days. Here."

"Thanks."

Just as Miller took the bottle, the lights went red for a moment as alarms blared throughout the bunker. "What's going on?" Clarke asked, jumping off her bed.

"That signal means the surface patrol is back and someone needs medical attention." Maya explained quickly, eyes frantically searching the ceiling. "I have to go to quarantine." She said as she rushed off. She didn't notice Clarke tried to follow her since Wells blocked the leader's way, grabbing her arm lightly. "Clarke, what are you doing?"

"Maybe they found survivors. If our people are hurt, we have a right to know."

* * *

 **October 13, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

"You were right before." Abby said while tying up the last of the stitches. "The bullet only grazed you. There's no shrapnel either, so your organs should be fine."

"No intestines hanging out?" Kova asked with a weak smile. They sat on the side of a makeshift medical bed, leaning heavily to one side so the doctor could check out their wounds. Abby heard Jackson snort behind her and turned slightly to give him a playful glare. "No intestines hanging out." She affirmed, turning back. "You did, however, need a few stitches to make sure it heals properly. You got lucky."

Their smile quickly sobered up as their eyes landed on Raven, who was laying on their front. Finn sat close by on a stool. "She wasn't."

Abby's actions paused. Kova could tell it was going to be a difficult process for the young mechanic. She nodded and passed the used instruments to Jackson for him to disinfect. "You're all set." She turned around to face her next patient. "How are you feeling, Raven?"

"Awesome." Her voice was slightly muffled by the pillow, a small portion of her face poking out to the side. "Hi Kova."

"Hey girl." They said softly, pulling up a different stool to sit by her. They took one of her hands in theirs, keeping a straight face even as Raven gripped their hand tightly. "You know you shouldn't lie to a doctor, right? I learned that lesson a loooonnnng time ago."

"I… You're right." Raven's eyes flashed between Kova and the doctor behind them. She took a deep breath. "Just spit it out Abby, what's going on with me?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment, but she knew there was no point in keeping Raven waiting. "The bullet is still shifting." She said bluntly. Raven's eyebrows furrowed together as Kova's breathing hitched. "That's why you're in pain. I was hoping that it would stabilize by now."

God, Raven could just _feel_ her heart pound throughout her body. Every _thump!_ was met with another wave of pain at the base of her spine, and no matter how thankful she was to be alive she would be more thankful if she didn't have to deal with the pain. "So why don't you take it out?"

"It's stuck in your spine. That's why you can't feel your legs. If we leave it in you'll live, but you'll never walk again." Abby continued, the ultimatum weighing heavily in the air.

"And if we take it out?"

"The surgery itself could kill you. We have no equipment, no anesthesia—"

Everything grew fuzzy for Raven. "Will I walk again?"

"Maybe, but you'd be awake the whole time. You'd feel everything."

The chance to walk again, but with great pain and maybe even death during surgery? Or never walk again, never deal with the pain of surgery, but the pain of the bullet will still be there, a heavy weight chained to her.

Everything felt unreal. Two months ago, Raven was in space working as a mechanic, fretting over her delinquent boyfriend and trying to make a living for herself. Now she's on Earth, a bullet in her spine, her now ex-boyfriend sitting next to her treading the line between "awkward friends" and "nothing ever happened between us" and it _hurts_ , everything just fucking _hurts._ Raven took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do. "Sign me up."

* * *

Raven's screaming brought everyone's attention to the medical bay for a moment. Most of the Arkers knew about her condition and the surgery, although not much about who shot her. Just imagining the pain itself was too great for most. Blocking out her pained screams, the people headed back to work.

"Alright everyone, bring it in." Major Byrne called out, gathering the rest of the guardsmen. There couldn't be any distractions while they prepared for the perimeter watches. In the distance from the woods, a man screaming gave everyone whiplash at the sound of someone else in pain. "Now what?" Kane asked, stepping up to the group.

"It's coming from the north." Byrne replied.

"Follow me." He said, starting the jog to the forest.

* * *

Abby and her assistants finished performing surgery on Raven to take the bullet out of her spine. It didn't take long for her to wake up after knocking out from the adrenaline rush and the pain, but Kova wanted to be the one who would administer the test for nerve damage as soon as possible. Meaning before Kane remembered to take them away for questioning and/or imprisonment.

So far her right foot seemed completely fine, thank the gods. Kova dragged the nail lightly over Raven's left foot. Taking note of how motionless her foot was, the doctor eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Did you feel that?"

"...feel what?" Raven choked out in fear, keeping her eyes focused on the ceiling.

Kova bit their cheek but kept a steady and calm voice. "It's okay, just let me know when you feel something, yeah?"

"Try it again." Came Finn's voice from Raven's side. "Try it again!" He snapped, moving to his feet.

"Finn, stop." Raven spoke softly, holding her hand out. He grasped her hand and she couldn't tell who was grabbing onto who harder. The mechanic was silent as Kova continued dragging the nail up her leg until they reached the top of her knee. "There." Everyone except for Raven took a deep breath. "What? What's going on?

"Raven," Kova started, moving up the side of the bed so the young woman can look at them clearly. "There's damage in the nerves of your left leg. You can only feel up to the top of your knee."

So that painful surgery was for nothing? Raven could feel her throat begin to tighten. "Will it get better?"

There was a moment of hesitation on Kova's part. Their eyes shifted to the right briefly. "I'm not sure, I would have to test your leg often to see if the numbness moves down or not." Kova said as they held her hand. "I can try to build a slip on so you can control it without a cane, but for now you'll need crutches until I can make it."

"But you're alive," Abby spoke from Raven's other side. "and you're not in pain anymore."

A few tears slipped out from the corners of her eyes. "But half my leg doesn't work."

"But it might work soon." Kova briefly registered Jackson had entered the room to whisper in Abby's ear as they spoke. The doctor snatched the nail from their hand quickly, shocking all of them. "Major Byrne is coming." She explained just as the doors swung opened.

"You, grounder." The older woman entered the medical bay with two bodyguards trailing behind her. Byrne, not so subtly, moved a hand to her hip, a little _too_ close to the baton. "Come with me."

While standing up, the first thing Kova did was a weapon assessment. Two guns strapped to the Major and one baton, while the two bodyguards only had the batons. One thing the kyongedon can easily tell was that Byrne was _pissed_ , for whatever reason, and they weren't trying to take the brunt of it. Kova briefly glanced at Abby as Raven held their hand tighter. "Raven, I have to go." They placed their other hand on Raven's wrist. She let go easily. "Abby will take care of you, alright?"

"You're coming with me **now**. No amount of groveling will help you." She barked as she whipped out her baton, the guardsmen behind following her actions.

"Major, put that away! What's this about?" Abby stepped up, subtly moving between Byrne and the grounder. There was no point in using violence if Abby was here. The Major knew this but her patience had worn out, especially after finding her men in…that manner. "Kane has some… _questions_ for them. And I'm planning to get some answers as soon as possible." The Major said as she put away the weapon, leaving behind a tension in the room. She motioned her head to the two bodyguards behind her. "Handcuff them."

"I don't think that's necessary." The doctor spoke sternly, but turned in surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "No, it is." Kova spoke, giving her a soft squeeze. They walked in front and held their hands up in compliance. "They're scared of me, after all." They glanced back at the group before turning back to the guards, staring down at Major Byrne with a sneer. "Isn't that right, Major?"

"That's enough." The Major turned on her heel as the bodyguards stood on either side of Kova. She began walking away at a brisk pace. "Let's go."

* * *

The idea of being alone with a bunch of shifty authorities wasn't exactly a…pleasant thought, to say the least. From what they had recalled by talking to Raven, Wells, and Octavia, the adults weren't a reliable group. Knowing what kind of weapons the guards had on made Kova even more nervous, but there was no way they were going to let that show. Major Byrne led them to the main hunched over tower of Camp Jaha. The grounder was escorted to a dim room with two chairs. "One for me, I'm guessing?" Kova asked cheekily. They had their fair share of interrogation rooms as the interrogator and the interrogee.

"Kova?" The kyongedon could recognize that raspy, tired voice in an instant. They whipped their head to the source. "Bellamy!" They made a move towards him, but by the time the ends of Kova's hair stood straight and the sound of electricity buzzing through the air, it was too late. Their leg went rigid before it spasmed out and folded underneath them. They landed on the floor with a grunt and a loud thud, landing on their shoulder. "Kova!" Bellamy called out. The kyongedon thought they were calling out his name but they couldn't register anything other than their body twitching from the electricity and overestimation.

Putting the shock baton away, Major Byrne left without another word. Knowing their orders the two bodyguards arranged the room, one of them dragging Kova over to a chair, head bobbing around until it settled to the side. "Leave them alone!" Bellamy shouted as he shook the gate, trying to break free from his restraints. The guards ignored him and handcuffed Kova's wrist to the sleek metal arm. As soon as they finished they stepped back into their positions by both boys at the gate.

Kova didn't knock out from the pain since it was only for a few seconds, but it felt like their entire brain was rebooting. They tilted their head to the other side and for a passing moment, they were briefly reminded of the wounds Lincoln had sustained from his torture. If that was only the delinquents' work, how bad would the adults be?

"Kova?" Bellamy's voice vaguely registered in their mind as the fog began to clear. "Kova, you alright?"

"They just got tased, Blake. They don't seem alright to me."

"Shut it Murphy! Kova!"

"I'm alive, Bell." The nickname rolled off their tongue with ease. "Felt like a cramp from hell, though." They heard his sigh of relief just as the door clanked and opened. Kane and Major Byrne entered the room, but only one of them seemed furious. "I told you to not use violence." Kane reproached the Major, sticking his finger in her face. "The grounder was resisting, sir." She spoke clearly, completely stone faced.

"Bullshit!" Bellamy shouted, the gates ringing once more. His guard moved their hand to their baton and he immediately quieted. Kane wordlessly brought the other chair closer to Kova and sat down. "I've got some questions for you."

"Yeah, I had a feeling." The real question is how would they answer? Their head felt heavy, but they managed to pick it up. "What do you want?"

"Name, age, where are you from?"

"Kova, 25, I was born to Trikru."

"Do you know where the 100 went?"

"No."

"How do you know English?"

"Won't say." Those were their last words. Kane kept asking questions but Kova blocked him out, staring into the wall behind his head. There were certain things they most definitely couldn't answer, no matter if their loyalty lied to Trikru or the Arkers. Question after question, mostly about the Trikru clan, but all they had in response was an unfocused stare burning into the wall behind Kane. That was until he popped out a more important question to them. "Fine, you don't have to respond to those questions _for now_." He emphasized the last two words. "But I need an answer to this. Where does your loyalty lie?"

Before he and the Major entered the room, Byrne was a bit... unnerved by Kova's presence. There were too many questions, not enough answers, and it didn't seem like they were willing to help. But there was something off about them. She could tell. It was something Byrne saw in her trainee days when she had to learn about the history of warfare. The dead look soldiers had in their eyes after war, the way they would look around suspiciously even though they were in a safe area. Kova had all the signs of a soldier or a warrior, whatever the grounder's term was for that. And Kane finally understood what Major Byrne meant when she said the grounder was unnerving. Kova made eye contact with the him almost mechanically, eyes void of shine and light, only deep and dark and unblinking.

"I'm... not sure." It was true. They still wanted their name to be cleared with Trikru so they could return home, back with their people and their friends and have everything back to how it used to be. But they knew it wasn't realistic. Not with the accusations, the rumors, the betrayal. But they couldn't side with the Arkers either, not 100% at least. Even Lincoln was gone. Taken aback by the grounder's answer, Byrne used Kane's speechlessness to her advantage. "What do you know about crucifixion?"

Kane's eyes flickered between her and the grounder, but Byrne was completely stone faced until she saw the little jut of Kova's head, her anger rising even further. "Crucifixion? How do you know of that?" They asked, seemingly innocent.

The chair screeched back and flipped over when Byrne stood up, bringing out the baton and shocking it to life with a click of a button. "We found three of our men crucified to a tree because of **your** people!" She bellowed as she pointed the baton to Kova.

Kane stood up and kept an arm between the Major and Kova. "Holster that weapon right now Major, and leave." He warned, seeing her jaw clench in anger. In the little pause of her hesitance, Kova stared at Byrne in the eye, head tilted to the side, as if daring her to try something. The Major turned the weapon off and sheathed it before taking her leave, slamming the door behind her. "To answer the question," Kova spoke while Kane watched Byrne leave. "Crucifixion is only used as a means of torture but in this case...it's a warning."

* * *

"How are you holding up?" Bellamy's tired, raspy voice rang through the interrogation room. It was easy for Kova to pinpoint that he was behind them to the left, meaning Murphy was on their right. A small smile formed on their face. "Decent. Though I'm starting to think my stitches may have broke when I fell." They felt a cold slimy patch soaked into their shirt as they spoke, turning their head in his direction. Kane and his guardsmen left a while ago, so they could break their silence with ease. "And...you?" The hesitation in their words made Bellamy frown. "Your face was pretty messed up, did they at least help you?"

There was a small twitch at the corner of his lips. It was a good feeling, knowing someone else was worried about him. "Yeah, my face is doing fine."

"Ugh." Came Murphy's groan of discomfort. "Can you two not do this right now?"

Before either one could respond, the door clanked open. Finn entered, Monroe behind him staying the entrance of the door. "Get up." He passed Kova, cutting Bellamy loose first. "We're going after them."

"It's about time." Bellamy rubbed at his irritated wrists and took the cutters from Finn. "Wait, wait. What about me?" Murphy asked, shaking his wrists against the gate. Bellamy ignored him and moved towards Kova, crouching on one knee in front of them. "Ready to go?" He asked with a small smile, placing the handcuffs in between the teeth of the cutters.

"No, you need to leave me here." They said as they moved the wire handcuffs away. Taken aback, Bellamy looked up at them. "Kova—?"

"If I go, it'll be even more suspicious, and I need to get on Kane's good side right now. Sneaking out won't help me. You guys need to go." There was a fire behind their eyes of determination, one Bellamy couldn't miss. He nodded, placing a hand on their wrist. "We'll be back soon."

His reassurance earned him a small smile. Kova gave him a nod — they knew he'll be fine. "Go find our friends."

* * *

 **October 13, Year 2149  
** **Forbidden Trikru Territory,** **Mount Weather Bunker**

The sounds of the piano filled the common room with an old song. Wells, Maya, and Monty stood by the piano, watching Harper in awe as her fingers graced over the piano keys with ease. "It's been a while since I played." She said with a smile on her face as the three of them began to clap.

"It was great!" Monty praised. "I'm pretty sure I failed all my piano lessons."

In the corner of the common room, Clarke was sitting on a chair while she edited her new discoveries of the bunker onto her map. The world around her sounded muffled, but one conversation sparked her interest.

"Langston. Where you going, man? Tonight's movie night."

"I got to pass." Langston responded, pointing behind him. The last time Clarke saw him, he was covered in radiation burns throughout his entire body. But now there was only a patch of a radiation burn on his neck. "Doc says I got one more treatment."

"Ah, I see. Catch you later then!"

Langston walked out of the room, briefly glancing at Clarke before heading down the hallways. Clarke followed him discreetly until he entered the medical room. She cursed under her breath. "Only patients are allowed in medical."

She swallowed and peeked at her stitched wrist, then glanced to the sharp edge of the bed. "Clarke?" Wells called from down the hallway. "Where'd you go? You okay?" ' _If I'm going to do this, I gotta do this now.'_ Taking a deep breath, she brought her wrist down on the edge.

"Clarke? Oh god, Clarke!"

* * *

The smell of disinfectant clouded the air but the searing pain pulsating in her forearm distracted Clarke from the smell. She managed to wake up just as Dr. Tsing left the room. She got up from the bed slowly, still a bit disoriented, and moved around Langston's bed next to her. "Langston." She shook his arm. He seemed to be knocked out. "Langston. What are they doing to you?"

There were tubes protruding from the filter device in his chest that led up into a machine, but there were even more tubes that led up to a pipe down the hallway of the medical room to a metal door. Clarke tried to open the door and sighed when it didn't open. 'Of course it's locked, just like everything else here.' She thought as she looked to the side. 'Oh, perfect.' A small smile formed on her face when she saw the vent.

Climbing through, Clarke popped open the vent on the other side. The lights gave the room a dark blue-green look, the same king you would find in a horror movie. Shuddering, she stepped out of the vent. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, stumbling over the vent shutters when she became face to face with upside down humans in the center of the room.

Her hands came up in front of her in case they tried to attack, but it seemed like they were knocked out. The tattoos on their body were a giveaway that they were grounders of different clans. "The tubes…" She muttered quietly as she walked around the suspended bodies, her eyes following the tubes to the wall connected to the medical room. "Oh my god, they're draining their blood."

Her entire body froze when the sound of moaning came from behind. She felt the blood drain from her face as she turned, looking behind her to see hundreds of grounders locked in cages like animals. Clarke stumbled her way down the alley of cages, flinching when their reached out hands brushed against her.

Her eyes moved left to right, but froze when she recognized one. ' _Oh god, don't let this be…'_ Squatting down, she was face to face with a familiar Unit Leader, although battered and far too skinnier than how Clarke remembered.

"Anya?!"

* * *

A/N: Wow guys, my bad I thought I posted the second chapter last month but I didn't? Sorry! I'll post a new chapter soon within a week or two ^^. Wanted to let y'all know I made a tumblr for this series! I'll be posting inspiration stuff and some character designs of Kova soon :3 Thank y'all for being patient!


	3. throw me into the fire and pull me out

**October 13, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

"You." Kova lifted their head when the guard addressed them, walking closer to where they sat. The grounder had been in this situation before as a prisoner of war. There were too many interrogation sessions to count, and so far they had a pretty good record of keeping their mouth shut. There's no way they'll say anything about Bellamy and the group that left.

"Listen, I gotta ask. We've—" The guard motioned between himself and the other guard in the room— "been wondering this since Kane and the other brought you here. What are you?"

Kova's eyebrows furrowed and their head tilted slightly. "I… I don't know how to respond to that. Human? Kyongedon?"

"What? No no," The other guard intervened. "He meant it as in what's your gender?"

"We've been trying to figure it out for the past hour we've been here." The first guard said. "We've never seen someone so feminine but so masculine at the same time, it's really throwing us off."

A small smirk formed on their lips, but they quickly wiped it away before either one could see it. "Oh, you mean my status? I was a warrior, but I would sometimes have to be a scout." They let out an exaggerated groan. "God, that was such a pain in the ass."

"No that's not what we meant. We asked Kane about you and he just kept saying _they_ or _them_ , but that doesn't help. Are you a girl or a boy?"

"Well, I'm neither." Both guards raised their eyebrows, impatient to know the answer. "As you can tell, I'm older than girls and boys, so I'm neither one of the two you named."

The first guard's smile fell and their hand tensed into a fist. "Fuck it, Imma just go for it."

"Wait—"

"What's in your pants, grounder?" Kova noticed one hand rested on a baton. A clear attempt at intimidation. The second guard rolled their eyes, a heavy sigh releasing as they turned away. ' _Isn't this… police brutality? Guard brutality?'_ Whatever, they were gonna have _fun_ with it.

"What's in my pants?" They repeated the question which the guard responded with a nod. "A knife, probably."

"Oh fuck off—"

* * *

 **October 14, Year 2149  
** **Forbidden Trikru Territory, Mount Weather Bunker**

Bunkers were often talked about during history class on the Ark when nuclear war was brought up (which was many times), but the way bunkers were described put it in a negative light. A tight, moist, moldy room with little lighting and poor air quality.

I mean right now to the 100, it seemed like they were talking more about the Ark than a bunker. Mount Weather was amazing to them with the amount of food, preserved culture, and best of all: no lightheadedness from oxygen deprivation. But for the 100 there was another worry on their minds.

Clarke. "Nobody's seen Clarke today." Wells spoke to Harper, Monty, and— "Hey Maya, sorry for interrupting." Their new bunker friend.

"Hey." She waved a bit awkwardly and stepped away from the group. "Maybe you guys should… uh…"

"No, no!" Harper held her hands up. "We're still gonna have breakfast. Monty and I'll just meet you on line." Maya waved and as Harper turned to the two boys, she narrowed her eyes at Wells.

"I've just got a bad feeling. I took her to the medical room but I haven't seen her since, and neither has anyone else."

"Maybe she's still in there?" Monty reasoned.

"If anything I'll ask Maya if she knows where Clarke is." Harper said.

"We can trust Maya, right?"

"Yeah, but anyways what choice do we have? She's the only one we've made friends with here so far. Besides, if Clarke was in trouble," Harper placed each hand on the boys' shoulders. "I'm sure she can handle it."

* * *

 **October 14, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

' _I wonder how long they'll keep me in here.'_ They toyed with the handcuffs a bit to avoid irritation. ' _They must be busy figuring out where Bellamy and the others went. It shouldn't be that hard to find them though, right?'_ They jumped in their chair when the door swung open, bouncing back from the wall until two guards pushed their way in, dragging a body in with them.

Another grounder. Trikru, judging from the clan tattoo on his neck. He resisted, trying to pull the two guards back to the door until his eyes landed on Kova.

' _Oh shit.'_ They discreetly covered their face with their hair, thankfully loose from the tight bun it was in earlier.

"Traitor! Trash!" Their thrashing grew and the guards were having a hard time holding him down. Kova brought their head up at the sound of a guard whipping out their baton and raising it above their head, ready to hit the unknown grounder. "Wait." The other guard held their hand out, a devious smirk stretching across their face. "You know what… We should watch them fight. For information purposes."

"Right, of course."

Kova felt their face blanch as the other grounder grew still and stopped resisting. "Oh, this one can understand us too? Seems like he's down with it." Kova made eye contact with the grounder. ' _Please, don't do this. Let's go against those two and escape.'_

The two guards looked at each other, then nodded and let the grounder go at the same time. The grounder practically threw himself at Kova, knocking the chair over and sending them to the floor. They yelped as they felt a crack rang throughout their head from hitting the floor. They tried to break free from the handcuffs to no avail. Instead they folded the chair and held it up, ready to swing. " _Hey, we can work together against the sky people!"_ They coughed out. They braced for impact, but not for getting the wind knocked right out of them.

The grounder stood up, a sneer on his face. " _Why should I help you?! You're the reason why I was kidnapped and why we're going to war again!"_ He threw a quick kick to Kova's head, which they could only block by holding the chair up as a weapon.

They felt dizzy from the impact, but that didn't stop them. " _I was kidnapped too!"_ They lied fluently, using the wall to help themself up. " _Whatever Trikru told you all, it's not true! I got caught up in the middle of their fight and now they're using that against me."_ Holding the chair in front of their chest they easily blocked the punch the other threw to their stomach, but not the kick that sent Kova flying into the wall. He digged his knee into the chair, preventing Kova from moving and from breathing properly. His face was flushed with anger and sweat. " _And why should I believe you?"_

" _I went through the Azgeda war, front lines."_ They could barely speak, the chair crushing their stomach. The grounder looked down and noticed the familiar necklace winking at him in the dim light, almost completely hidden by their shirt. " _You think I wanted to go through another one after that shit? I tried to stop Trikru!"_

"Hey, do you think we should stop them?" One of the guards murmured. "We're heading to dangerous territory right now."

"Nah."

The grounder's face didn't change in expression, but Kova could see it in his eyes. He didn't trust them completely, but it was enough. As a sign, the traitor felt the chair lighten up from their body. In sync the grounder swiftly turned and tackled one of the guards to the ground while Kova swung the chair up, slamming the head of the other guard. The two guards collapsed to the floor, knocked out. Breathing heavily, Kova noticed the grounder's movement from the corner of their eye. He held his forearm out, his face less flushed now. " _I'm Rivo."_

They grasped his forearm, still panting. " _Kova. Listen, I need to get on their good side in order to help our people."_

" _Can I ask what happened between you and Trikru?"_

" _Another time. Right now, we gotta focus on our next plan."_

* * *

"So… He wants to help?" Kane asked, suspicion weaved into his tone as he looked between Kova and Rivo.

"Yes. He's not a warrior though, so he doesn't know English. He said he'll help you find a Trikru village close by who'll take you to the Commander, the leader of what you call grounders."

"And what does he want in return? Why couldn't you take us there?"

"In return, grant me refuge here. I'm...not exactly allowed to go back home." They felt a lump form at the bottom of their throat. They cleared their throat and continued. "After I helped Lincoln and the delinquents, Trikru announced that I was a traitor. Which is why we were fighting earlier."

"Right, a likely story." Bryne said, standing up from her crouching position. She had been examining the two guards that were knocked out. "And I'm guessing you just had to fight the guards too?"

"They were trying to get us to fight each other." Kova defended. "If anything, you should be teaching them how to take care of their prisoners of war better."

"Prisoners of war? Right." The major scoffed and left the room, letting the other guards carry the two unconscious away.

" _Do we have a deal then? I lead them to the Commander and trap them there, and you'll be free here to do your mission?"_ Rivo asked as Kane began to unhandcuff Kova from their chair.

" _Yes."_ They rubbed their wrists and thanked Kane. " _Nice work."_

* * *

 **October 14, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Art Bunker**

"We're gonna do this again and this time you're gonna stop screwing with us. Where did you find this?" Bellamy held the watch up for the grounder to get a good look.

"I told you," Delano groaned, growing tired of the same questions. They've been at it for at least an hour now ever since the group kidnapped him. "I found it outside your camp."

"He's lying. She would never take it off voluntarily." Finn muttered under his breath, pacing back and forth in front of the grounder. "Where is the girl who was wearing this watch!?"

"I never saw a girl."

"Great, I'm glad we're getting answers." Murphy leaned back against the bunker wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Maybe you should stop asking him nicely."

 _God_ , it was happening again. Finn grew unfocused as he stared at Clarke's watch, everything in the background fading away from him. She was still out there, missing, or maybe even dead? No, there's no way she's dead. There's no way. There's no way. There's no way. Bellamy's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"Shut up Murphy." Bellamy returned to the grounder. "Where are our friends? We know you took them, just tell us where?"

"No, Murphy's right." Finn bounced from the wall, striding with purpose and a gun in his hand. "We're wasting time." With all the force he could muster, he smashed the butt of his gun right into Delano's face. "Answer the fucking question! Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?!"

"Hey! Hey!" Bellamy grabbed him by the wrist, preventing him from hitting the grounder again. "Finn, stop. You don't want to do this, trust me." The blood of Chancellor Jaha on his hands came to mind, as well as the hallucinations he suffered from. "There are some lines you can't uncross."

Finn snatched his wrist back only to punch Delano repeatedly, every word punctuated with a hit. "Where's! Clarke?! Where THE FUCK is she?!" The corners of his eyes started to blacken and he pulled the gun out, pointing it at the person who touched his back. "Bellamy, back off."

"Put down the gun Finn."

Instead, Finn aimed the gun at Delano's head. "3 seconds! 2! 1!"

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you, your friends are east of here the village where we take our prisoners of war. I can draw you a map, but you'll have to hurry before they outlive their usefulness."

' _That...doesn't sound right.'_ Bellamy thought as Finn quickly passed Delany a piece of paper. Murphy's voice brought him back to the present. "You thought I was the crazy one, huh?"

Bellamy could only scoff before he observed the map. "You sure about this?"

"Yes." Delano said quickly. A little too quickly if you asked Bellamy.

"Alright, gather up the gear. We're leaving."

"What about him?" Sterling asked, fidgeting where he stood. There was nothing more he wanted to do than leave and stay away from Finn.

"We'll just leave him. We can deal with him when we're done."

"And what if he escapes? He knows exactly where we're going." Murphy jutted his head towards the grounder.

"We're not killing him."

"I don't really see another option. If we don't care of this now it'll blow back on us and you know that." Murphy pushed himself off the wall.

"He's unarmed, Murphy."

"He's a grounder."

"So is Kova. And Lincoln." The image of the two siblings popped up in his head. Bellamy gathered his things. "Just because he's a grounder doesn't mean we have to kill him, there's no reason to. It's not like he can escape from here."

"And if he does?" Murphy was really starting to give him a headache. "He's gonna tell his people everything and we'll be as good as dead. Our friends, too."

Finn's head snapped up at Murphy's point. ' _Clarke's definitely not dying on my watch.'_

"We're not doing this, end of discussion. You'll have to go through me." Bellamy stood his ground between Murphy and Delano.

Murphy couldn't help but scoff, eyeing Bellamy up. "What happened to you? You act like you haven't killed a grounder before."

"I have, and that was in battle. Killing him would just be an execution—"

Delano falls over, a bullet hole through his head. Finn stood over his body, gun raised and aimed. "Let's get going." Finn said, tucking the gun back and walking past everyone to the exit. Everyone stood there in shock, but Monroe and Sterling recovered first and cautiously followed Finn out the exit.

"Guess i'm not the monster here, huh?" Murphy said before he walked past Bellamy, who stared at the dead body as if it didn't actually happen. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he would be in Finn's place if it weren't for...

Whatever. Now's not the time for that.

* * *

 **October 14, Year 2149  
** **Forbidden Trikru Territory, Mount Weather Bunker**

"Hey," Monty held his hand up, waving for Harper and Maya to sit with him and Wells in the Mess Hall. "Did you find anything?" Wells asked. The three Arkers noticed Maya's slight frown and the way she tapped her finger against the table.

Harper placed her hand on Maya's. "What is it?"

Maya let out a deep breath. "Apparently Clarke had some sort of breakdown. According to medical bay, she just snapped. Started pulling out her stitches trying to hurt herself. Wells was the one who helped bring her to medical bay."

"Right, I remember." Wells grimaced, shaking his head. "I wasn't expecting her to something that careless. But there has to be a reason, we just have to figure out what."

"Maya, where is she now?"

"She's being monitored in the Psych ward. I talked with a friend who works there, and he said it might be a couple days before anyone is allowed to see her." Her shoulders were tense.

Monty shook his head with a scoff. "Right. We'll see about that. Thanks Maya."

* * *

 **October 14, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory, Senaah Forest**

"If you're gonna kill me, just get it over with."

Octavia was _exhausted_. She was poisoned, Lincoln was kidnapped _twice_ and Octavia _failed twice_ to bring him back to her. The chief was still angry at her for reasons unknown (although she suspected it was her relationship with Lincoln that ticked her off the most), and she was just so _tired_ of it.

Nyko stuck his hand out to her. "You proved yourself well, Octavia of the Sky People. We'll let you live." Octavia raised her head, switching her gaze back to Indra who gave her a nod of...acknowledgement? Thanks? Octavia really couldn't tell at this point. She took Nyko's hand and stood up. "Lincoln was a good man, he was my brother. I don't know where his sibling is, but they'll find out eventually."

Little did they know.


	4. guard's duty

**October 14, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

"I don't need a babysitter, _Kane_." Kova seethed through clenched teeth. "And I don't want your ridiculous clothing." They tossed the pile of clothes back at the Chancellor.

"Our clothes are not ridiculous." He caught the pile with ease and plopped them on the table between them. "And he's just a safety precaution."

"They're too light and uncomfortable, especially with winter coming up soon." The kyongedon said as they flicked the pile away from their side of the table. Kane rolled his eyes discreetly but it wasn't hard to miss under the harsh fluorescent lights above them. They scoffed and looked to the side, feeling the guard's presence behind against the wall. "A safety precaution? For who, exactly?"

The Chancellor pushed himself off the table with a sigh. "I'm already doing more than enough letting you walk around the camp. Just cooperate before I revoke that."

Their jaw tensed, but they licked the lips and nodded. "Fine. I'll take your babysitter."

"Good." He made his way to the door. "How long did you say it would take for me to come back?"

"You should be back within a few weeks. Three at most. Depends on travel time and how well your conversation goes with the Commander." Kova responded, turning towards him. "Like I said, Rivo doesn't speak English, but he does speak a different language. The Commander has a variety of fluent languages on her tongue, so make sure you two are on the same page when discussing."

"Hold on, are you implying the grounder will throw them in a bad light?" Kova had forgotten Major Byrne was in the room by the door frame. "Sir, we shouldn't do this if our only source isn't reliable—" Kane raised his hand to interrupt her. "It's fine, we're still going. I'll see you all soon, keep it safe here."

"Yes sir."

He left them behind. Kova toyed around with the sky people's clothes in disgust when the piled was snatched from the table and forced into their arms. The Major held the clothes against them, her eyebrows furrowing together. "While the Chancellor is gone, you will be followed by your guard 24/7 and you will report to me every three hours. You are not to leave camp."

"Yup, understood. I already went over the rules with Kane." Kova mocked the guard salute. "Anything else?"

Byrne pushed the clothes further and Kova begrudgingly took a step back. "Wear. The damn. Clothes." She gritted out before taking her leave.

"Fine, I'll wear them." Kova muttered under their breath, holding the clothes in their arms. "Gonna wear my armor underneath though." They grumbled before looking over at the guard who stared straight ahead. "Name?"

"Jehan." He responded quickly. ' _Oh, his voice is a lot deeper than I expected. He must be older than he looks.'_ They thought as they hummed, walking to the door. The guard followed a few steps behind. "I'm Kova, as you already know. Anything we should get out in the open now?"

"..."

"Great start, I love the quiet ones." They laughed bitterly. "Come on, let's go visit some friends."

* * *

Sinclair knocked against the electric wires with a rod, startling everyone with popping noises. "Everyone! The fence is now hot!" Sinclair announced to the camp with a smug broad smile. "Trust me, you do not want to go near it." He passed the rod to one of the guards. "Sir," The guard spoke. "Raven Reyes is waiting for you in the job center."

Her name caught his attention quickly, and the smile downgraded to a parted mouth. "Really?" The guard nodded. He patted the guard's back and thanked him before heading over to the job center tent. ' _The last time I saw her was when I saw her take tools from the communal tool bin.'_ He laughed softly to himself at the memory, but it quickly vanished. ' _I should've realized she was up to something. I didn't know she was actually building a ship. But then again, this is Raven. I wouldn't have been able to stop her.'_

Man, he remembered how terrified he was when he found out Raven built her own ship and hurled herself to Earth. Was he proud of her? Of course, how could he not be when _she just fixed an outdated and unusable spaceship?_ But he was so worried that she would be in trouble or get lost in shape or _died_ that he ended up distancing himself from Abby.

"Reyes? You in here?" He called for her in the tent. A woman turned around, her ponytail flicking along with the movement. Raven was a lot paler than what he remembered, with sunken eyes but still had a small smile on her face. "Yes, sir!"

"There you are." Sinclair grinned widely but it faltered when he caught sight of the crutches by her sides. He enveloped her into his arms, taking care of the crutches. "I heard Dr. Griffin cleared you for work." He felt her nod against his chest. "How's your leg?"

"It's…" Raven cleared her throat, her eyes flickering off to the side. _Painful_ , she wanted to say. Her back still ached terribly from the surgery and her leg was still adjusting to the nerve damage. But there's no way she could talk about it. Not even to Sinclair. "It's not a factor." She pulled away from the hug, her smile faltering. "What's the job?"

"Great!" He clapped his hand on her arm lightly. Of course Sinclair didn't buy it, but knowing Raven she most likely just wanted to get back into work and clear up her head. "We need a radio beacon so we can contact the other Ark stations that landed. Think you can do that?"

"I'm on it, I got it."

"Then let's get you to engineering and start."

"Roger that." She said as she fidgeted with her crutches. Raven tried adjusting them so they wouldn't pinch at her underarms, but they weren't working with her. Her jaw clenched and her eyebrows furrowed until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She moved back while Sinclair reached down and help her adjust. "Thanks Sinclair." She muttered quietly before hastily leaving the tent first.

* * *

The beacon was already partially built by other engineers, but there was still something missing. The beacon wasn't working. "What if we change the tone frequency to 400 hertz?" Raven said while writing some notes down.

"Mm mm." Sinclair shook his head. "That'll just increase the radiated modulation depth. Atmospheric noise will screw us." Whispering and pointing from the other sky people around caught his attention. ' _Why are they pointing?'_ He questioned the sky people eyed each other and glanced at him and Raven. ' _God, they're not talking about Raven, are they?'_

"So the signal's fainter. At least they'll know we're out here." She continued. ' _Good, at least she hasn't noticed yet.'_ Sinclair thought. "Wha—"

"Oof, I'm hearing about signals and atmospheres?" Raven whipped her head up and straightened at the voice. "Sounds like we're talking about radios and wavelengths or something." She whipped around, her ponytail almost smacking her in the face. "Kova!"

"Hey genius." The kyongedon stood behind her with a smile on their face. They wrapped their arms around her, their grin widening when they felt Raven melt into the hug almost immediately. "How're you? I'm sorry I wasn't there, I tried coming sooner but—"

"Yeah, I know." Raven said. "Kane told everyone about the deal this morning. I'm glad you're out."

"Seems like you're the only one." Kova said quietly. They had been getting dirty looks ever since they left their ' _cell.'_ "But anyways, meet my new friend. Jehan," Kova turned around to the guard behind them. "Come say hi." Jehan's eyes flickered between Kova, Raven, and Sinclair before he stared straight ahead. "It's okay," Kova smirked. "I'll crack him eventually."

A soft, small laugh came from Raven. Sinclair's eyes raised his eyebrows.

"So, what are you guys talking about? Nice to meet you by the way." Kova stuck their hand up to greet Sinclair. He copied the action with a polite smile. "We think the current isn't getting high enough." He said. "We might as well be shouting into the wind."

"Did you put an insulator between the mast and capacity top hat?" Raven asked.

"Oh, you know I love it when you talk all science-y." Kova teased and nudged her lightly with their elbow. She pushed back and her smile grew bigger.

"Already... tried that." Sinclair continued, eyes flickering between the two. "It's still not working."

Her smile dropped quickly. "Then you're probably doing it wrong." She said harshly before making her way towards the antenna. Kova internally cringed at the way her leg dragged behind her. ' _She's going to injure herself more like that.'_

"Raven, wait." Sinclair held his arm up to prevent her but she pushed him away. "Don't worry," She said. "I'll fix it. I always do."

"Elbow grease isn't going to fix this!" Sinclair called out.

"Please," Raven scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "What would you know about elbow grease?" She set her crutches against the side of the antenna and swung the bag of tools over her shoulder. Placing the protection mask on her head, she tried to climb the first set of X's up the antenna, her arms shaking as she slowly pulled herself up.

The second set of X's, however… that wasn't going to work out. Raven felt the way her arm muscles strained to support the rest of her body, and even her good leg couldn't keep up with it. Her eyebrows scrunched together, sweat dripping down her forehead as she climbed back down to the ground.

Kova sighed quietly. They had seen this all too often back with the war veterans. "Raven..."

"Come on." Sinclair said softly. "Let's go back to the work room. We can think it through tog—"

"Just leave me alone!" Raven snapped and snatched her crutches back, rushing off with her head down.

Sinclair took a step to go after her but stopped when Kova held their hand up. "It's best not to follow her. She just needs to readjust, that's all." He felt his jaw clench, but heeded the ex-warrior's words. "I didn't realize her leg would still be paralyzed." Kova continued. "I haven't seen her since she had the surgery."

"It's bad, from what I heard." Sinclair said quietly, kicking at the dirt lightly with his shoes. "Abby said it most likely wouldn't be healed properly for a long time. I made her a brace for her leg to help, but..."

"She didn't want to use it?" Kova spoke, a small smile forming on their face at his look of surprise. "I had a feeling. I haven't known Raven for as long as you have, probably. But," They laughed lightly. "I have a good sense of her personality." They turned to Sinclair with beaming eyes. "You said you made a brace?"

"Yes, why?"

"Why don't we fix it up together?"

"You know how to do that?"

"Well it's been a while since I've last worked with a brace, but I'm sure we can manage."

* * *

Sinclair and Kova quietly approached the door of what Sinclair called 'the Idea Room.' Kova held the knee brace behind their back and leaned against the door frame while Sinclair walked into the room.

"Raven." He said softly. She stood by the window, eyes drooped and staring longingly outside. She didn't bother looking or acknowledging the man. "Raven, do you know why you're working on the beacon?"

"I'm not." She turned around and started walking to the door. "Find someone else."

"I asked for you specifically." He followed her footsteps. "You're the best mechanic we've got."

"Wow, go me." Raven scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Exactly 3 mechanics made it to the ground."

"Don't act like you weren't top 3 on the Ark, too." Sinclair said as he lightly put his hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense under his palm but didn't say anything. "You're more than just smart, Raven. You're a genius, the next Einstein I'd say." She snorted, her lips twitching into a small smile. ' _Good, we're getting somewhere.'_

"Sinclair and I don't understand what you're going through, and we probably never will." Kova said from behind, walking up to the two. They pulled out the newly fixed brace, holding it out for Raven. "But we'll do everything we can to help you through the process."

Raven looked at the brace skeptically. But she took it into her own hands and hoped she didn't drop it because she was trembling, she felt like a whole mess from everything that's been going on and she's just so _overwhelmed—_

Turning the brace in her hands, Raven set the crutches against the side of the table and sat down on the chair. Briefly she fiddled with the brace in her hands and looked up at the two's warm, smiling faces. "Go on." Kova encouraged.

Slowly, she bent over and slid the brace on. "It's a HKAFO brace," Kova explained as she started to adjust the straps into place. "It's supposed to support your hip, knee, ankle, and foot. You'll have to wear low sneakers like the ones you have on. You should stay away from tall boots for a while."

Raven stood up carefully and leaned heavily against the table, limping her way towards Sinclair. Halfway through, she let go of the table. She was still limping, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. "What do you know," Raven's smile came back stronger. "Your brace didn't kill me."

"It wouldn't have killed you in the first place, but Kova really helped out." Sinclair smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's good to see you smile again."

"Hey, what is this stuff?" Kova pointed to the tank with an extended tube, mostly hidden by the desk.

"Put that in your mouth and inhale." Raven grinned. "Trust me."

"I always do." Kova stuck the tube in their mouth and inhaled the gas. "But what— AH. MY VOICE." Sinclair and Raven both cracked up, laughing at Kova's panic. "Raven what's going on?!" Their voice was comically high pitched and cracking.

"Helium!"

"Is that what this is?!" Their voice crackled harshly and went back to its usual deeper tone. "Oh, it's back to normal." Kova sighed in relief and placed a hand on their chest.

"Oh my god, Sinclair!" Raven turned to him with a look of realization. "I know what we have to do to raise the beacon!"

* * *

"A balloon, huh?" Sinclair tilted his head far back to the sky to look at the newly made beacon, his hands on his hips. "Smart idea."

"I think the word you're searching for is 'genius.'" Raven showed off a toothy grin.

"Definitely genius." Kova said. They held their hand against their eyebrow in order to see the balloon. "I'm surprised it works well. We've tried to build one before, but it could never work long distance."

"Because of the radiation?" Sinclair questions.

"Some sort of weird interference, we never actually figured it out."

"What the hell is this?" ' _Oh god, the devil is back.'_ Kova mentally groaned as they turned around with the other two. Major Byrne and her group of guards stood behind, looking up at the balloon.

"Hey Major." Sinclair greeted with his hand raised. "We made the radio beacon Kane wanted."

"Wrong, it's a target." Byrne pulled up their gun and just as Raven was about to protest, she shot the balloon down. "Are you the one who made this?" She pointed a finger at Kova, her eyebrows forming a deep scowl. "Are you just helping your people figure out where we are?!"

"We fell from space in a football stadium." Raven seethed angrily and stepped in front of Kova. "I think they already know where we are."

"Chancellor Kane is out there risking his life to negotiate with those savages." Kova narrowed their eyes at the Major's words, but didn't say anything. "You better hope he's successful, because if he isn't then every grounder within 50 miles of here now knows exactly where we are." Byrne scoffed and stepped back, turning to Sinclair. "I expected better from you, chief. And you," She pointed to Kova again. "You're on thin fucking ice. All guards to the wall, now! You see a grounder, you're authorized to shoot on sight."

"Including this one, Major?" One of the guards jutted their head to Kova, a shit eating smirk on their face.

"Unfortunately, no." Byrne said while making eye contact with them. Kova felt their hands tense into fists, but remained silent. "Let's go. Cover the perimeter. Move."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

 **October 15, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory, Senaah Forest**

"Everyone, eyes peeled. We're in grounder territory." Bellamy warned the group as he stepped over an uprooted tree root.

All Murphy could see ahead was more dirt, more roots, and more green. _Everything_ was green. He was so _tired_ of green. "Everything here is grounder territory, all right?" Murphy seethed through clenched teeth as he hunched over, his hands on his knees. "I can't keep running, all right? We don't even know if the guy Finn killed was telling the truth."

The boy in question was already annoyed Murphy stopped moving, but he sprinted forward and seized Murphy by the jacket, pulling him forward. "Just. Keep. Moving."

"We can give him a minute." Bellamy put his hand between the two boys. "We're all tired, we can catch our breath for a bit."

"No, we can't." Finn released the jacket from his grip and turned against Bellamy fairly quick. "You heard what that grounder said. They'll outlive their usefulness."

Bellamy took a deep breath and prepared to open pandora's box. "I heard what he said when you had a gun to his head, Finn." He saw Sterling and Murphy freeze in the background once he brought up the elephant in the room and couldn't help but wonder if everyone once saw him the same way he was looking at Finn now.

Finn's face noticeably darkened. "Look, you think I wanted to do that? He would have told his people we're coming. By the time we would get there, our people would be dead." His eyes narrowed and he stepped away from the older man. "Maybe that's something you can live with, but I can't!"

The entire group went quiet and Bellamy could feel all eyes on him, he could feel the way his hand curled into a fist and he could feel all the anger, the heat rise in his veins. "Finn." He took a step forward the younger boy and relaxed his fist. "You're not yourself right now, okay? I can't be out there with another loose cannon."

"Guys?" Monroe called from behind. "Come look at this."

The three boys looked at each other briefly before following Monroe. Immediately they were hit with the scent of smoke and fire, and the smell of roasting meat burning deep in their noses. "Ugh, what's that smell?"

Dead bodies scattered throughout the landscape alongside metal debris. Further along the mountain there was an Ark Station falling apart. Bellamy looked over the scene, his hand running through his hair as he took a deep breath. "Fuck."


	5. tell me what to do

**October 15, Year 2149**

 **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Outside Camp Jaha**

"We didn't know who she was—"

"This is what I'm talking about. Even if you didn't know, you shouldn't have shot first and ask questions later! And you didn't have to handcuff her to the bed like some wild animal."

That voice was... familiar. Clarke's eyes fluttered for a brief moment, just barely noticeable. She was tired and didn't have the full strength to open them. She could feel the scabs and cuts on her face stretch at her skin. Her ears were off too - not necessarily muffled, just a bit dulled out. But there was no questioning who the voice belonged to, the sharp tone laced with worry only if you look close enough. Kova. Clarke felt the bed dip as someone sat down and stroked her hand in comfort.

"It's just a safety precaution." She recognized Byrne's voice to her right.

"You shot her in the shoulder, it's not like she'll be getting up any time soon!"

Clarke opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Major Byrne by the door, along with another guard. "Kova?" She asked quietly.

The person in question stood at the foot of her bed, surprised to hear their name. "Clarke?"

"Clarke!" Now that's a voice she wasn't expecting. To her left she found her mother sitting on her bed. Abby placed a hand on her daughter's cheek, stroking with her thumb. "How are you?"

"Mom? Oh, I'm fine." A lump formed at the base of Clarke's throat. The back of her eyes and nose burned. She had no idea her mom was alive this whole time, but there was still an incomplete mission to finish, she had no time to cry (just yet). She cleared her throat and raised her head as much as she could without moving and looked towards Kova. "Where's Anya, is she okay?"

"She's right here." Kova moved to the bed adjacent to hers. They patted the mattress gently and sat down. "She's as okay as she can be after getting shot in the shoulder."

Clarke turned her head. There was an oxygen mask over Anya's face and her shoulder was wrapped with clean gauze. There was gauze wrapped around her forearm from when she bit off the gps tracker. She was a lot cleaner than she was before - all the mud and blood was wiped off and she was wearing fresh(er) clothes. "Is she okay? Will she live?" Clarke tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed, only to be pushed back by her mother.

"You need to slow down, you shouldn't get up so suddenly." Abby said. "The shot wasn't fatal. It went right through her."

"Where have you been?" Byrne asked.

"Mount Weather." Clarke said.

"The Grounders took you to Mount Weather?"

"What? No, the Mountain Men did." In her peripheral vision she noticed the way Kova's eyes widened and their back straighten. "They were the ones who kidnapped us, you didn't know?" She referred the question to the kyongedon.

"No, I had no idea." Kova said quietly. All eyes were on them. "I saw Tristan try to take Bellamy and Finn as prisoners, and last time I talked to Raven she said a Trikru warrior showed up with Murphy. I just assumed Trikru kidnapped all of you guys after the battle."

"So did we just send Chancellor Kane to the grounders for nothing?" Byrne's voice cut through the room. "Ma'am, let me form a group to go after Kane asap."

Abby took a moment to think before nodding her head. "Go. Find him before he reaches the grounders."

The Major nodded and with a sharp glare to Kova, whispered in Jehan's ear. "Stay with them at all times." Jehan only nodded in response as the Major left.

"Are they alive?" Clarke asked.

"Who?"

"Finn and Bellamy."

It wasn't hard for Kova to recognize that look of desperation in Clarke's eyes — they saw that in themselves every day in the mirror. The thought that she left her friends to die was probably haunting her every day since the attack.

They were about to respond when Abby cut them off. "We're not doing this right now."

"Mom, I need to know." Clarke said. "Did anyone else make it here?"

Their eyes flickered between Clarke and her mother. "Bellamy and Finn are alive. They left camp to look for you under your mother's orders. Raven is alive, the last time I saw her she was working with the other engineers on camp. The only confirmed death I found so far was Jasper. He died before the explosion."

"Oh, oh no…" She lowered her head, she couldn't control the tears that welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself. "I thought they were all dead." Clarke mumbled quietly and tears dropped onto the blanket. "I thought you were dead, mom. I thought you were dead!" She started sobbing into her mom's shoulder and hugged her tight. "I thought you died!"

"Not me." Seeing her only daughter like this broke her heart. Abby couldn't even imagine what kind of shit Clarke went through. Abby rubbed her back slowly, comforting, and kissed her forehead gently. "I'm right here."

Kova turned away from the scene.

* * *

Clarke eventually relaxed from her state, her congested nose the only sound in the medical tent. Abby turned to Kova. "She's not going to wake up anytime soon, you know." She said and jutted her head towards Anya. "She's going to be sedated until her body can handle the wound."

Kova simply nodded with a hum.

Clarke noticed a pin on Abby's jacket, but couldn't recognize it. "What's that? I thought you were thrown off the council?"

"Hmm?" Abby followed her eyes to the pin. "Oh, this? It's the Chancellor's pin."

"What? You?"

"Yeah, I know. Thelonious didn't make it, and Kane left two days ago to try to make peace with the Grounders to get you and the others back."

Clarke's eyes widened. "Oh god, wait a second. How long have I been asleep?"

"About 10 hours." Kova responded.

"We need to move against Mount Weather. How many guards are here? Where are Finn and Bellamy?"

"Clarke, please. You need to rest." Abby put a hand on her arm, but Clarke moved it away and stood up.

"I don't need to rest mom, I'm fine now. And…" She hesitated. "I really don't need, or want you to protect me. I just need to save my friends."

Dumbfounded, Abby didn't know how to respond. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. A cough from the entrance interrupted them. "Ma'am." Major Byrne addressed Abby. "There's movement in the north woods."

The Chancellor straightened. "Grounders?"

"I doubt it." Kova said. "They have no reason to come here and they don't know about Anya yet."

"I agree. I think they might be ours." The Major said before rushing off to the gate.

Eyes wide, Kova stood up and sprinted out the tent, the flaps whipping behind them. Jehan was about to run after them when Abby raised her hand. "It's okay, let them go. We'll catch up."

Kova vaguely registered Raven calling their name from the side of the tent, but they were too focused on who was here. They heard the sound of Major Byrne opening the gate and ran in that direction. They passed by two injured people from the group, one Kova didn't know and the other they recognized as Monroe, who had an arrow sticking out from her thigh. They ran to the gate where they saw—

"Bellamy!" They slowed down just in time before they could crash into him but he still had to take a few steps back so the two wouldn't fall to the floor. Kova grabbed onto his arms for stability and thoroughly checked any visible skin for wounds, even turning him around in place.

"You really wanna check me out now?" Bellamy teased. "I'm okay, don't worry."

"I saw the injuries on the other two. Are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded and took hold of their wrists. "I'm okay. A little surprised you're worried about me, but I'm okay."

"How could I not be after everything that happened?" They spoke softly as they dropped their tense shoulders. His eyes widened just slightly due to his bruises and injuries and just as he was about to respond—

"Am I tripping out? Am I on mushrooms or something?"

Kova peeked over Bellamy's shoulder to the familiar voice. "Octavia!" They broke away from Bellamy to hug her. Just then, Clarke came over and practically jumped on Bellamy, hugging him tightly. At first he stood there with his arms spread in shock, but it only took a second for him to wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, are you finally done worrying over my brother?" Octavia laughed and hugged back just as tight. "I'm pretty sure you broke him for a second there."

"Hey, I had to make sure he was okay. The guards here are really not nice." Kova said as Raven arrived and hugged Octavia. "Also, Abby was just telling me. You're all 17 with no fighting experience?"

"Well, yeah. There was no point in fighting on the Ark, we weren't expecting to come down so soon."

"But not all of us are 17, I'm actually 18. I was only here with the younger kids because I flew down before the rest of the Arkers did." Raven pointed out. "Plus I know Jasper, Monty, and Harper are 16, and some of the other kids are younger, like Monroe."

"Oh, and Bellamy is 23. He sneaked on the first dropship with us even though he wasn't supposed to." Octavia said.

"What?! Bellamy and Lincoln are the same age?"

"Lincoln and I are the same age?" Bellamy's voice came from behind them. Both he and Clarke looked surprised.

"Right? I wasn't expecting that. You and Lincoln are a year younger than me." Kova said with a look of disbelief. "Wait." It was only then did Kova realize… "Octavia, where's my brother?"

The Blake siblings gave each other a knowing glance. "We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

"So," Kova took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Lincoln was taken by the Reapers." Octavia, Bellamy, and Clarke were huddled around Kova, who was sitting on a rock with Raven by their side. The younger Blake nodded and Kova hunched over, pressing their palms against their forehead. They took a moment to relax before speaking. "Did you see in what direction?"

"Towards the caves, I think."

Raven gently placed her hand on their shoulder. They dropped one of their hands on top of hers. It was a comforting gesture that they appreciated a lot. "Okay. And Bell," they turned towards him. "You said Finn and Murphy are heading to a village? And the Finn isn't... right?"

"Yeah, the grounder we found said it was just past the statue of—"

"Of Lincoln, right?" Kova cut him off sharply. "The village is called Ansme, mine and Lincoln's home. Or at least, it used to be Lincoln's, too."

"Why did he leave Ansme in the first place?" Octavia asked.

"He was actually very popular in the village, especially with the kids. But the adults at the time didn't want him to be a bad influence. He kept questioning our culture, our traditions, and the elders wanted him out. He left willingly." Kova hunched over again, their hair covering their face. "That man was most likely Delano, another who was exiled except he was unwilling to leave, so Chief Indra and the others had to threaten his family until he left."

"And this is his revenge." Bellamy said quietly.

They glanced at him. "Yes." They stood from the rock, Raven mimicking their actions. "We should head to Ansme first, and hopefully find Lincoln on the way."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The corridor was eerily empty in the main building of the camp. The lights flickered and left strange shadows from the wires and panels jutting out of the walls.

"This is your room." Jehan's voice brought Kova out of their thoughts. They peered inside after the guard opened the door. A simple bed against the left wall and a desk leaning on the corner of the opposite wall.

"Oh, my pouch." They walked to the desk and picked up the leather pouch with delicate hands, feeling the bottles inside. None of them felt cracked, and the pouch didn't seem wet. They opened it. "Thank the Gods. I was worried my medicine was broken."

"Medicine?" Jehan asked as he stepped closer.

"Yes, this is aloe vera mixed with lavender and some other ingredients." They held one of the bottles, a light green liquid sloshing inside. "It's an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. It smells really good too, do you want to try?"

The guard glanced towards the open door. Nobody passed by. He turned back to them and nodded. Kova discreetly held their breath as they opened the bottle's cap. Jehan leaned in and took a big whiff but couldn't smell anything. "I thought you said there was lavvffff..." His word trailed off as black dots spotted his vision. As he breathed out he felt lightheaded, and his knees buckled underneath him.

They let out the breath they were holding as someone caught Jehan just in time before he collapsed. They turned around to face Bellamy, Jehan slouched over in his arms. "He didn't breathe in too much of the vapor, so he'll be unconscious for about five minutes."

"That's just enough time. Close the door and get the bag." He said as he started dragging the guard to the bed.

Kova closed the door silently and took the bag from him, taking the contents out. Four pieces of rope and a gag. "Perfect." After bounding Jehan to the bed with the ropes, Kova wrapped the gag over his mouth. "Good work."

"It was a good plan." Bellamy sent them a small smile before heading over to the pouch. "How did you know they would give this back?"

Kova took the pouch and secured it to their belt, where it was already worn down like the pouch had been there for years. "Abby asked if I could help find some ingredients around here to make medicine for the camp. I told her I could, but only if I can get my pouch back." They opened the flap, revealing multiple bottles of liquid and herbs. "Luckily they didn't find the notebook." They pulled the section of bottles up, revealing a hidden component at the bottom with a small notebook and a pen. "Now come on, the others are waiting."


	6. i'll make this right

**October 15, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

* * *

Under the cover of large debris that stuck itself into the Earth, Octavia waited with Raven and Clarke. "I can't believe Abby really said no one leaves camp." Octavia said.

"I know. But we're not going to listen to her." Clarke said as she grabbed her bag from the floor. "Thanks, Raven. For the guns."

"Of course." She stood up. "I scored you a couple extra clips, just in case."

"We're here." Bellamy's voice came from the side before he popped up with Kova in tow.

"Everything handled with your babysitter?"

"Yeah, we tied him up so he can't alert the other guards. We ready?" Kova asked as Raven passed them a bag.

"Yeah, my mom's in surgery now and the team going after Kane just left."

"Then let's get going." Just as Bellamy stepped towards the gate, he was stopped by Raven's crutch.

"Not so fast, friend." She bumped a stick against the gate. It crackled lightly, just enough to hear but not enough to get a guard's attention.

"I thought you said it was handled?"

"It is." Raven pulled out a walkie-talkie. "You can shut her down now, Sinclair."

"Copy. Be safe, everyone." His voice came through the radio.

After a moment, she tapped the stick against the fence. Nothing. "See? Handled."

Clarke nodded her head in gratitude before climbing through the fence, Octavia and Bellamy following in her footsteps. Raven felt Kova's calloused hand on her shoulder. "I know you'll have to stay in camp. Would you mind keeping an eye on Lieutenant Anya for me? Until I get back?"

The young woman nodded. As much as she didn't want to stay behind, she knew that was her only option. She wouldn't be able to do much for them outside, not with her leg like this. "Yeah, I will."

"Thank you. Stay safe, we'll see you later, genius." Kova said before hopping through.

* * *

 **October 16, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Near TonDC**

* * *

The shadows of the trees grew long and the night's blanket covered over the Earth early tonight. Another reminder that the cold and ruthless winter would be on its way soon. Nights like these often reminded Kova of the coldest nights during the Azgeda War, where they and the other soldiers would have to bundle themselves in thick armor and thicker capes, gather by the campfire, and snuggle with each other so nobody would catch hypothermia. Even if tensions were thick, even if there was bad blood between the soldiers. None of that mattered in the face of the cruel weather.

They were brought out of their thoughts when the crunching of leaves stopped as the group took in their surroundings. "We should set up camp here tonight." Octavia dropped her bag and looked around. "Looks like there's no one around."

"Looks like there are no animals around either." Eyes narrowed, Kova set their bag on the floor. "I'll do a perimeter check, just in case. You guys get a small fire running. And I mean small, we don't need to attract any unwanted attention."

"Do you want me to come with?" Bellamy asked, patting the gun on his hip.

"No, you keep watch of the camp from here." They were about to leave when they felt a hand on their shoulder.

"Wait, take this." Octavia unsheathed the sword by her side. Lincoln's. "You don't have a weapon. Take it."

"You sure?"

"I have extra knives and those two have guns. We'll be fine here."

Eyeing the weapon for a moment, they reluctantly wrapped their fingers around the hilt. "Thank you." They muttered before they ran off into the forest. There was much to be done before they returned.

* * *

By the time Kova had returned, the skies were pitch black and the forest was no better. The trees blocked out the moon's light, which would have made it harder for Kova to return if it weren't for the fire burning from the camp. Bellamy must have already sensed they were back since he didn't move a bit when the leaves rustled as they entered the area. "Didn't I tell you to keep the fire down?" They said as they placed Lincoln's sword by Octavia's cot gently.

He hummed and threw some wet leaves in the fire, bringing it down a few notches. Kova gave him a confused look. "It was getting dark out, I didn't know if you'd find your way back." He explained. The fire was just big enough to keep them all warm. "Anyways, how was it?"

"Everything looks clear, but I found some old tracks-" Kova first placed Lincoln's sword by Octavia's cot, then sat down next to him with a grunt, leaning their back on the log. "-and some animals hiding out. Someone was probably hunting around here before we came." They noticed one of his hands was on his gun, but didn't bring it up. Octavia was opposite from them, across the fire, laying down on her makeshift mattress of leaves and dirt. Clarke was to their right, using her bag as a pillow. They were both asleep - or at the very least, had their eyes closed.

"Do you think this hunter might be back soon?"

"I doubt it. After a hunt the animals around the area are paranoid for days, maybe even weeks. No point in coming back."

He responded with a nod and the two stared into the burning, shriveling wood in silence. Or, at least, Kova was. Bellamy eyed the kyongedon from the corner of his eye. The light flickered upon their face, highlighting the dotted tattoo running down their right cheekbone. "I'm keeping watch. You should go rest."

"Nah." They didn't look away from the fire in front of them. Instead, they made themselves more comfortable on the log by placing their elbow on top and slouching. "I won't be able to. Not until I know my village is safe. Until I know Lincoln is safe."

"Will you be okay? Going back, I mean. My sister told me about why Lincoln was captured in the first place. You're both on the wanted list?"

"Yup. A thousand lashes, that's our price for treachery." Every since they left Camp Jaha, that was all they could think about. "I had a good relationship with my village, but I'm not sure if they'll try to capture me or not."

After everything that happened? Bellamy thought that was some down right bullshit. He didn't doubt their village would back stab them like that. Not at all, with what he heard from Lincoln and Octavia. But if Kova thought he was going to let them get captured... A puff of air blew from his nose, followed by a light scoff. "They can try if they want, but there's no way I'm gonna let that happen." He looked them in the eyes as he spoke before he returning to the fire and their surroundings. He didn't see the way Kova's eyebrows shot up, the way their lips parted ever so slightly in shock, or the way they stared at his profile, stunned.

They broke out of their stupor with a soft laugh and turned towards the fire. "Right, like you wouldn't be the first one to hand me over to them."

"If this were a few weeks ago, probably. But..." The corners of his lips turned up as he looked at them. "You also saved Octavia and others of the 100. You helped us more than the Arkers ever could, or really would." Any hopeful look he had grew solemn, almost regretful. "After Finn killed that groun— that kyongedon, I couldn't help but think if that's what I looked like to you and Lincoln."

"A less violent version, yes." Kova admitted. "After tending to Lincoln's wounds when I rescued him, I wanted to rip you apart for hurting my brother, for killing all those kyongedons - even unintentionally. But that day when we were in the tent after the Exodus ship crashed, I saw you. I saw all your guilt, all your remorse and shame for the blood on your hands and I don't think I've ever seen anyone like that, not even in myself. After that, the anger I had towards you was still there, it just wasn't as intense as it was before. But Bell," They placed a hand on his leg, just by his knee. Not too tight but not loose either. Grounding. He could feel the warmth of their hand through his jeans. "You are nothing like Finn. You were not as bad as whatever he's going through right now. You've changed. Okay?" As they spoke, one of their dreads came out of their low bun and trailed alongside their face.

It was only until Bellamy leaned in close to brush the dread away did he see that Kova's sharp eyes. They were usually dark, almost as dark as the bark surrounding them, but the fire revealed shining specks of copper and honey flickering and mixing together. Transfixed, he tucked the dread back behind their ear. "Okay." His voice was quiet, soft, even in the silent forest around them.

After a moment of staring at each other, they both heard rustling ahead. "You guys alright?" The cracked voice from across could only be Octavia. Kova took their hand away from Bellamy and broke off eye contact first to assure her everything was fine, yet Bellamy couldn't bring himself to look away until he saw Octavia and Clarke shift at the corner of his eye.

"Did you two get any sleep?" Clarke asked as she leaned against her elbows.

"No, we were talking about Finn." Bellamy responded. "Losing you and the others, the battle at the drop ship, Tristan, it all changed him. He executed the kyongedon that drew us the map. It was crazy, he pulled the trigger and walked away."

"I know, you told us this." She fully sat up and placed her forehead against the palms of her hands. "It doesn't sound like him."

"It doesn't. I didn't realize he wasn't himself. I saw what he was capable of, and I let him go with Murphy and two automatic rifles."

"He's traumatized, Bell. You couldn't have known in that amount of time." Kova said.

"We need to find him, then our people in Mount Weather."

"And Lincoln." Kova and Octavia spoke at the same time. They both sent a small smile to each other before Octavia gathered her things and stood up. "I think we've slept long enough. Let's get going."

* * *

 **October 16, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, TonDC**

* * *

All kyongedons were required to do at least a year of regular, sore inducing, ground training as warriors. Things like scouting, front fighters, back fighters, secret services, etc. After that most tend to find their specialty that they enjoy more than the others, like teaching, digital war, healing, medical engineering, bio-war, etc. Some continue warrior training for the extra money, while others graduate and never return.

Needless to say, Nyko stuck with healing until he could finally be one of the latter. He was no warrior. He hated getting dirty, he hated the mud and the blood and other questionable liquids involved. Potions, herbs, bandages, you name it, he could do it.

So when Chief Indra left Tondc, taking all the warriors with her, and Lieutenant Anya was pronounced dead, Nyko couldn't help but panic. They all left to fight the sky people, and so far none had returned. Including his close friends, Lincoln and Kova, but he didn't want to even think about them right now after the more recent news.

He was named responsible for all the citizens of Tondc. All 78 of the elders, children, and others who couldn't join the fight no matter how much they wanted to. He didn't know how well he could protect them, but the citizens easily reassured him. After all, Tondc was a pretty small village compared to the others nearby. What were the chances they would get attacked?

Unfortunately…

"He told us our friends were here, Murphy. Why would he do that?"

Pretty high. Nyko and the villagers were too panicked about the fire that started in the food department to realize it was an ambush. And now here they were, huddled together in the disgusting, muddy pigs pen, at the mercy of the two sky boys with two semi-automatic guns in their hands. It took all the strength in Nyko's body to prevent the other villagers from helping the young woman one of the sky boys pinned down into the mud, but also to prevent himself from lunging at him. He was referred as Finn by the other boy, Murphy, and Nyko could only curse Finn out in his head.

The other boy scoffed. "The guy with one fucking eye? Maybe 'cuz you had a gun to his head!"

 _'One eye?'_ Nyko's head perked up. "Wait!" He stood with his hands raised, the cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Finn held the gun up, finger on the trigger. "A man with one eye. That was Delano. He's a snake, a thief! He and his men were thrown out of the village for their crimes, and you are his revenge."

"Finn, it makes sense. Clarke and the others aren't here." He wasn't listening to Murphy, but he let himself get dragged by him. "We need to go. Now!" Murphy kept pulling at his arm, as if he was dragging a child away from a shiny toy.

"Right. You're right." Finn turned around and stumbled with Murphy, and for a brief moment Nyko's cold sweat stopped, and his muscles relaxed slightly. But movement to Finn's right caught his eye. One of the older grounders jumped over the fence of the pigs pen, but before they can even try to run to their home, three bullets went straight through their body.

Murphy was stunned, frozen in his spot before he practically jumped on Finn's arm. "Finn, what did you do?! Let's get out of here!"

Finn held the gun up, smoke and heat still trailing from the end of the barrel. From the pigs pen, Nyko and the other villagers cried out and sobbed over their lost family. "No! He was just trying to get away!"

The other kyongedons started growing frantic as Finn stared them down with dark, hooded eyes, barely any life in them. Nyko couldn't control them, they were too scared of the boys with too much power in their hands, and some of them started jumping out and running for it. Shots rang out, echoing in everyone's ears, followed by bodies slamming into the muddy floor.

"Finn! We have to go! Look at me, we need to go now!" Murphy shouted with his entire chest, pulling at Finn's arm and covering his ears from the deafening gunshots.

Nyko felt someone brush by him and feet hitting the floor. He looked up, only to see the beaded braids of one of the teenagers. Artigas. "No!" The last thing Nyko saw of him was his braids flying into the air as bullets entered his body.

"Artigas!" A familiar voice sounded from the right. The shooting stopped. At the top of the hill stood Kova and the sky people, but Finn was only focused on one as Kova and who Nyko recognized as Octavia ran down the hill towards the fallen. Nyko jumped out of the pen and stumbled towards Artigas, ignoring Murphy's twitchy gun. He knelt before the young boy, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Artigas, Artigas!" Kova yelled as they pushed passed Finn and Murphy and slid across the muddy floor on their knees, stopping by the young boy's side. They took a piece of cloth from their pouch and handed it over to Nyko, who pressed it against one of the bullet wounds. Octavia followed with her own cloth.

"I found you." The quiet, soft voice of Finn. His eyes were only on Clarke, as if the bodies lying around surrounded by pools of blood didn't exist. As if nobody except for Clarke was there. Nobody except for Clarke mattered.

All Kova could see was _red_. Artigas' blood on their hands, their pants, their shirt, the cloths, everywhere. He's dying and they don't know what to do, and neither did Nyko, nor Octavia nor any of the other _useless_ sky people who could only stare at the man who just massacred so. many. people. And all he cared about was Clarke.

The skin on Kova's knuckles stretched from their hands bunching into fists, nails stabbing deep into the palm of their hands, the anger rising up from deep in their chest and burned throughout their body. Nyko and Octavia were trying their hardest to put pressure on all the bullet wounds, but there was just too many and not enough cloths, and Finn still had his eyes on Clarke like Kova's godson wasn't lying in the mud, choking on his own blood, dying and they can't do shit—

It was the Azgeda War all over again. The Mountain. But instead of Chief Indra by their side, it was Nyko who they made eye contact with. A knowing look.

 _Jus drein, jus draun._

The healer swiftly passed the handle of his hidden dagger in his sleeve to Kova's palm. They wrapped their fingers around it, a comfortable familiarity, and before Octavia could comprehend what was going on, Kova lunged at Finn's back, one hand holding the knife to his neck and the other across his chest. He dropped his gun in shock and Kova kicked it off to the side, close to where Nyko was.

"Kova, wait!"

"Don't!"

The kyongedon took a few steps back, dragging the murderer with them. They used him as a shield against Murphy's active weapon. "You gun may be faster than me," they addressed the boy, facing the gun head on, "but I'll take him down, and you know it." They threatened as the knife slipped just underneath Finn's skin slightly, small few drops of blood falling out of the nick.

Finn winced and held his hands up. "Kova, you don't have to do this, please."

Their grip against him grew tight to the point where if Finn breathed too deep, there would be another nick. "You best hope my godson makes it out of this at the very least, or I'll kill you right here, right now, traditions be damned."

"Please." Clarke took a step closer, and Kova took two steps back.

"You all need to leave. Now. The Commander will deal with him." They glanced over their shoulder slightly. "Including you, Octavia. You can keep Lincoln's sword, but you have to go with them to camp."

"Kova—?"

"Kova." Bellamy's deep voice caught their attention. "Just give us Finn. We'll forget about all of this, and we can go back to camp together." He slowly held a hand out, keeping the other one in their sight. "He'll be prosecuted under Abby."

"Hah!" The kyongedon couldn't help but mock. He obviously didn't understand the situation. A pang of misfortune struck inside their chest, seeing as Bellamy slowly grew on them. It was unfortunate that last night was the beginning of it. But Kova was no fool, they wouldn't let that get in the way of proper justice. "The sky people hate us all, Bell. I wouldn't be surprised if they let Finn go instead."

"That won't happen—" Clarke was interrupted by Kova's shout.

"Warriors, up!" Their voice was loud, booming with the authority one gets over reputation, experience and time. The remaining kyongedons that survived the massacre were brought out of their stupor, and once they saw Kova's position, every single one of them grabbed some sort of blunt weapon, anything that could be used, and aimed it towards the sky people. Nobody could forget their basic warrior training. "I won't let Finn go, so just leave." Kova noticed the guns twitching in their hands. "You can kill us too, if you'd like, but Trikru will just take the same amount of lives you all took."

Nyko took the automatic gun and with trembling hands, motioned Octavia to join the rest of the sky people. "You heard them. Go." Betrayal shining in her eyes, she slowly stood up and made her way to her brother, who immediately stepped in front of her, fiery anger shining behind his eyes. Clarke was the first one to start backing up, and eventually she and the other three grouped together, surrounded by old and young warriors alike carrying weapons. Nyko held the most power with the same gun that killed his friends. "Finn, we'll try to get you back!" She shouted just as they were about to pass the tree line.

"They won't be able to." Kova said before slamming the blunt handle of the knife into his temple.


	7. the dead are gone, the living are hungry

**October 17, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

The first kyongedon to escape Mount Weather. Anya wouldn't have been able to believe it herself if she hadn't recalled the events leading up to it. Escaping what she referred to as the Leech room with Clarke, surrounded by Mountain Men and Reapers alike, jumping off the cliff into a damn waterfall as a last resort, saving Clarke from drowning in the river like a dumbass, trying to use her as prisoner to salvage her reputation and return to Trikru, only for the opposite to happen.

(She refused to believe Clarke took her down. No no, Anya was just exhausted from everything that went down. And the bleeding. Clarke never could have taken her down if she was at her best.)

Then there was the alliance with Clarke. She also hadn't expected that to work out, but after hearing Clarke explain herself and her people, she… somewhat understood. ' _I guess.'_ They had a different life up in space. Don't get Anya wrong though, she still hated the children of the Betrayers just as much as she did before talking to the sky girl. But after being forced to listen to Clarke, she compared the sky people on the same level as the Trikru children less than 7 years old. Inexperienced, uncoordinated, only a vague understanding of what was going on, etc. She sealed the alliance with a grip to the forearm, as tradition always had her do. Then. Then…

A gunshot rang out. The bullet sped close enough to her head that she felt her hair flick and followed its path. A shiver shot up her spine and her stomach dropped, but by the time she had understood what the feeling in the pit of her stomach meant, another bullet had seared right through her left shoulder, the pain reaching across her neck and down her arm and back, and the last thing she remembered was laying in the dirt, groaning, holding her arm against her torso like it was amputated and she was desperately trying to reconnect them.

The memory sparked a throb starting at the epicenter of the gunshot wound and spread a wave of pain across her body. Her eyes cracked open, enough for her to see fluorescent lights and she realized she didn't know where the _fuck_ she was.

She shot up, only to be pulled back into bed by her wrist. ' _Damn it. Handcuffed.'_ She scowled and tugged at her hand again, the rattling bouncing off the walls of the tent. She cursed under her breath and looked up to see if anyone had heard her-

"Oh, you're awake." A young woman with a neat ponytail and a brace enveloped around her leg stood just off the foot of the bed. Anya scrambled as far back as she could with the handcuffs, eyes narrowed and sharp. "Colonizer." She seethed and tried to pull her arm out again, albeit more frantically this time. "What, are you here to finally kill me off? Burn me like the rest of my soldiers?" She spat out venomously.

The woman's jaw clenched. "No. Kova asked me to keep an eye on you, so here I am. In case you wanted to accuse me of murder again, the name's Raven."

"...Kova? That traitor?" The Lieutenant scoffed, a reaction Raven hadn't been expecting. "Why would they ask you to do something like that?"

"They went out to find F- someone who went missing." Anya noticed Raven corrected herself as she sat down on a chair by the bed. "They were watching over you while everyone else was worried about Clarke. What a surprise." She muttered the last part angrily under her breath. She couldn't be bothered with controlling her emotions around the grounder.

"So Clarke's alive. Where is she? I need to talk to her."

"Not here. She went out with Kova and a team to find the missing person." Raven waved her request off. "Either way, you can't move out of that bed for the next few days."

"What?! On whose orders?"

"Mine." Another woman, older, with more authority pushed through the flaps of the tent. "I'm Chancellor Abby, the leader of this camp. I'm also one of the main medics."

" _You colonizers pop up like daisies around here, huh?"_ Anya sucked her teeth and rattled the handcuffs. "Tell them to take these off me."

"Unfortunately that's not possible. You were shot in the shoulder and fractured a bone, so we went in and repaired as much as we could. But you won't be able to leave the bed for a few days, and we'll have to check if you're septic or pneumonic until the wound fully closes. After, you can get out of bed." The Chancellor said before placing a hand on Raven. "Major Byrne will take your place watching her. You need to come with me now."

* * *

 **October 17, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Asen Crek Forest, Commander's Tent** **  
**

" _There were many things I had expected of you, Kova. But betrayal? Out of the question."_

The last time Kova had been graced with the Commander's presence, it was a week after the battle at Mount Caocin, and a few days since Azgeda had officially surrendered to Trikru. They had gotten medals after medals, a few ribbons, and an official military tag. All personally given by the Commander herself.

(They remembered as soon as they got home, they threw every single damned medal around their house, ripped off the ribbons from their mandated uniform, broke the military tags, and sat under the blasting heat of the shower, scrubbing themself raw. Anything to wash away the dirt and blood and guts that stained underneath their skin.)

They didn't think meeting the Commander was an honor back then, and they sure as shit didn't think it was now. With one knee down and forearms crossed over the other, in front of the throne, Kova kept their head down in respect, but they couldn't stop the light scoff that passed their lips. They ducked their head further, ignoring the surprised gaze of both Lexa and Chief Indra, who stood by the throne.

" _It seems like you've forgotten who you are with."_ Indra spoke sharply as her nostrils flared. " _You better watch yourself. Or, since you've been fraternizing with the Colonizers for so long, should I remind you of your culture? And who you truly are?"_

" _Indra."_ The Commander lowered her hand, signifying to the Chief to calm herself down. She responded with a curt nod and began pacing behind the throne. " _However, it seems like not all is lost. They did bring us the murderer."_ She casted her barbed gaze over the blindfolded boy.

Hands and feet bounded, sitting on his legs and his hands on his knees, Finn could feel his skin grow itchy and irritated under the rope. He wouldn't be surprised if blood spotted at the cracks of his skin, but he didn't think he could bring himself to care after what he had done. ' _God, how many people did I just kill? How many of them had family? Friends? How old were they? What did I just do?'_

There were too many thoughts going through his head, he could barely hear the kyongedons talking about him. Well, he wouldn't be able to understand what they were talking about anyways, seeing as they were only speaking in Trigedasleng.

" _Why did you bring him in, anyways?"_ The Commander, with a small dagger twirling in her hands, stood from the throne, which creaked with history and time and authority that ran Kova's blood cold. " _You knew you were considered as a wanted criminal for one of the most heinous crimes, yet you risked punishment to bring him in. You could have left him with Nyko and ran off with the sky people, or even hand him over to his people to be punished. So why?"_

It was an expected question, one that Kova had been trying to prepare for, but they still didn't know how to answer it. " _I wanted him to be punished in the way he should be."_

" _Oh? Explain further."_

" _Blood must have blood. They don't share our beliefs, and I highly doubt they would've punished him at all."_ Kova didn't need to explain who 'they' were. " _They hate us, Commander."_ Do they throw the sky people under the bus? Or criticize Trikru? How do you criticize your own people, in a system you took part of? " _They genuinely believe we're at fault for all the problems they've had, even if they were the ones who started it all first. They believe we're savages, we're the animals even though they spilled our blood first. But we thought if they were just a bit more educated, a bit more knowledgeable of not just our culture but Earth itself, that Lincoln and I could try to salvage an alliance-"_

" _What nonsense is this?!"_ Even Finn could feel and recoil at the thunderous steps of the Chief, who stood in front of Kova, a hand on her weapon. " _How dare you assume we could create an alliance with those Betrayers, those Colonizers-!"_

" _Indra, enough!"_ The Commander stood between the two, head tilted high, as if daring the Chief to question her.

Kova took the opportunity to raise their head, and spoke with confidence. " _Lieutenant Anya originally had a meeting with the colonizers. They had no idea their ancestors left people behind to die on Earth. They didn't even know people were alive down here until one of theirs was attacked. The one who tried to pass Mount. Weather territory."_ Kova stumbled over their words trying to get all of the information out there before the Chief could interrupt them again. " _There was miscommunication at the bridge where Lieutenant Anya and their leader, Clarke were meeting. Both sides attacked. That's how I got cut with one of our arrows, dipped in fire ant venom."_ They lifted up their pant leg to reveal the scabs of the wound still healing. " _Lincoln had grown close with them, so they let me stay at their base until he could try to arrange another meeting. But soon after, General Tristan took Anya's place, under your orders. There was no chance of fixing an alliance together. Then the battle happened, and 300 of our warriors died. But Lieutenant Anya and most of the colonizers remaining were captured by the Mountain Men."_

" _There has been more sightings of the Mountain people recently."_ The Commander muttered under her breath. " _Did you say Lieutenant Anya was captured as well?"_

" _Lies! Her death was confirmed in the fire."_

" _No, the Lieutenant is alive! She's at their base being treated for an accidental gunshot wound."_ Kova emphasised 'accidental' after seeing the way Indra's jaw clenched, but her eyes didn't take on the fire she usually had when she was angry.

" _And Lincoln? Is he there with them as well?"_

Their eyes flickered away and focused on the floor. " _No. He's still MIA at the moment."_

" _He was captured by the Reapers."_ Indra explained at the Commander's confused look.

" _Lincoln was captured?"_ She said in disbelief.

" _Yes. He was protecting..."_ Indra subtly glanced at Kova. " _Nyko from being kidnapped by them."_

Kova's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise, but they kept their head down and silently thanked the Chief.

" _I see. Kova, do you think the sky people will use Anya as a hostage?"_

" _Yes, definitely. They would stoop that low."_ They glanced over to Finn's shaking form. " _They might want us to trade her for the murderer."_

" _We cannot give him up."_ The Chief snarled. " _Why don't we just kill the boy instead, and give them his body?"_

" _Or…"_ Kova's teeth worried at their bottom lip. The last time they offered advice, it ended the lives of thousands of warriors. But maybe not this time. " _They have people stuck in Mount Weather. We could trade our help, our warriors for Anya instead of the murderer."_

" _What a ridiculous idea-"_

" _Hmm."_ The Commander placed a hand on her chin, surprising both Indra and Kova. " _Interesting. That might be our best shot for now."_ She turned her back and walked towards the throne, sitting down with the Chief by her side once more. She motioned Kova to stand and come closer, and they complied " _For now, I'll take your plan into consideration. After all your last one had Azgeda surrendering at our feet."_

Their hands twitched at the reminder but thankfully no one had pointed it out. " _Will I still be punished for my crimes?"_ They asked quietly, head bowed.

The _swish_ of Lexa's dagger cut through the air. They felt their dreads flick into the air before pain sliced across their face. Kova recoiled and pressed their hands against their left cheek, blood seeping between their fingers and trailing down their arms. " _Since you brought in the murderer who took 18 lives," Lexa continued, "consider that your punishment. But act injured. If anyone asks, simply tell them you don't want to talk about it. I'm sure they'll take the hint. Are we clear?"_ Lexa replied smoothly, wiping the blood from her dagger with a rag.

" _Hands down."_ The Chief commanded.

They obeyed the order. Blood ran down their cheek, neck, and found itself blotting into their clothes. But not once did they waver, no matter how much pain they were in, or how much they wanted to shake in terror. " _Yes Commander. Thank you for sparing me."_

* * *

When Kova had been under investigation by General Tristan, it was rough to watch their old friends, and people who they considered family, gossip about them. They questioned their loyalty inconspicuously every single day during warrior training. And every day after training, they would head down to his little cave in the woods to hang out and treat the wounds he couldn't reach, all the worries and stresses of the day left behind at the door. At least they had Lincoln by their side.

Since the General was presumed dead in the blast (Kova assumed they never found his body rotting somewhere in the woods, with their old sword through his chest, and didn't bother to bring it up.) the investigation of their affiliation with the Emerald Boas were dropped. But just like a weed, the gossip persisted and grew stronger.

And Lincoln wasn't there this time. Captured by the Reapers. Although it pained them to think this, they hoped he died a quick, painless death. It was better than being eaten alive by groups of cannibals.

Their thoughts were sidetracked by the main issue at hand: the outside. Turns out, the Commander was ready for war against the Betrayers, and had an entire army prepared to fight at any minute. Somehow, word had gotten around that Kova was back, although they didn't know the extent of what the soldiers knew. But after the Commander dismissed them with a long gaping gash across their cheek, they considered her words carefully.

' _Act injured. If anyone asks, simply tell them you don't want to talk about it. I'm sure they'll take the hint.'_

' _Act injured.'_

If they knew where Kova had been, and what they had been doing, the soldiers would be pissed - no, _enraged_ \- that the Commander left them (almost) scot-free. Mob mentality can be a hell of an adrenaline rush, and they knew the soldiers would come after them.

At this point they knew this territory of the public eye well enough.

So they lowered their head, allowing their dreads to cover their face, placed one hand on their still gushing cheek, another across their stomach, hunched over, and stumbled out of the tent.

All eyes fell upon them. With every hesitated step, every fake grimace, the crowd around the tent began to part slowly and allowed them through, and murmurs rolled from the back to the front in waves.

" _The Commander really did a number on them."_

" _That's what the traitor gets, after all."_

" _I've never seen them that beat up before, not since the Mountain."_

They hadn't realized the blood from their cheek dripped onto the bottom of their clothes, making it seem like there were more cuts than just on their face. It almost looked like a ' _full punishment.'_

" _Imagine surviving the Mountain, earning all that praise, all those rewards, only to stab your people behind your back? Tch. Couldn't be me."_

" _Right? How selfish."_

No matter how much Kova wanted to yell in their face, no matter how much they wanted to throw a pretty punch to to their stomach, no matter how much they wanted to explain that the Mountain _destroyed them and countless others,_ they couldn't drop the act. So they balled up their hands into fists, clenched their jaw, and limped away from the crowd until they were finally out of sight, and out of mind.

* * *

Time seemed nonexistent in the large tent. There were no clocks around, no watched, nothing to tell Nyko how long he had been up, watching over the injured villagers who survived the massacre. 18 weren't so lucky. It would've been 19, if the tiny body lying in the bed in front of him had given up his fight. But there Artigas was, white bandages with red blots wrapped around his body, the light blanket covering his body bunched up in his fists.

" _How's he doing?"_

It wasn't rocket science to figure out who that voice belonged to. " _Still alive, thankfully, but his fight has only just begun."_

" _Infection? Anything?"_ Kova took the clipboard from the foot of the bed and sat on the chair by Nyko's side, flipping through the papers.

" _Slight risk since he fell in the mud, but otherwise they think he's doing fine for someone in his situation."_ He responded and leaned over to take a quick peek. " _How do his stats look so far?"_

" _Decent. His blood count is a bit low. I wish they started him on some iron IVs, but beggars can't be choosers."_ They passed the clipboard. " _What about the other survivors?"_ They asked in a hushed tone. Many of them were in beds behind the two, but those with less injuries were huddled in a little group off to the side talking amongst themselves quietly to not disturb the others, but the occasional sob would cut through the tent.

" _The ones in bed have body shots. Everyone else sitting have limb shots, so unless they were hit in the artery or another important vein, the doctors aren't as worried about them."_ He placed the clipboard back and sighed heavily, his body loosening up a bit more with every breath he took. It was only when he looked at Kova for the first time since they were separated at arrival did he notice the white bandage taped to their cheek, but they turned their head. He sat back in his seat. " _Do you know what they'll be doing to the murderer?"_

" _He took 18 lives, now he'll be faced with the pain of 18 deaths. With some extra change, for all those he injured here."_ They shrugged and crossed their arms and legs. " _The Commander and the Chief didn't mention any punishment in front of me. Or at least, about Finn's punishment."_

That got a snort from them both, and Nyko pointed to his own left cheek. " _Yeah, I got that real quick."_

They quieted down, just enough for Kova to hear what the injured villagers were talking about behind them.

" _It was lucky that they came in when they did. I don't know what would've happened to us if they didn't!"_

" _I know, I can't help but feel sorry for Kova though. You saw what the Commander did to their cheek?"_

" _Yeah. I thought it was a bit unfair, but I suppose it was for the other crime."_

Well, it was a nice change, for certain.

" _What's your plan now? Will you try to find Lincoln?"_

Nyko's question was expected, but they hadn't anticipated it so suddenly. They paused for a moment, trailing their eyes on Artigas. " _Yes. As soon as I know Artigas is better, I'll start looking for him again."_

" _Oh? I would've expected you to go hunt him down as soon as you could leave."_

" _Look at where that landed me now."_ A light laugh escaped their lips. " _Lincoln could be dead for all I know. Artigas is here."_

" _Let me know when you'll be able to leave. I'll come with you."_

" _Shouldn't you stay with the villagers?"_

" _Lincoln is one of my villagers. I'll help you."_

" _I appreciate that. Thank you."_

* * *

 **October 17, Year 2149  
** **Trikru Territory,** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

"So you just let them take Finn?"

"It wasn't like we had a choice-"

"Of course you had a choice, Bellamy!" Raven exploded, her ponytail flying wildly behind her as she slammed her hands against the table. "You should've just taken him back! You had more guns than those two did!"

"What, and kill more people than he already had?!"

"Raven, I need you to relax." Abby's hand lightly settled on her back, but she jerked her shoulder and stepped away.

"How could you just leave him there? Who knows what they're going to do to him!"

"Maybe if he didn't shoot and kill people like a lunatic, he wouldn't have gotten his ass captured." Murphy piped up from the side of the tent. Before Raven could respond - preferably with a punch - Clarke shooed him out of the tent like some sort of rat.

"Listen, we'll get him back." She spoke firmly, a tone Raven had heard countless times before but could never truly trust. And that certainly didn't change now.

"Right, sure you will. So should I expect my childhood friend in a coffin? Or in pieces? Or maybe just ashes?!"

The room went quiet. None of them really expected Kova to turn their back on them, least of all Raven, but here they were, in this cramped tent yelling at each other. Octavia was simply sitting on a crate in the corner, tenderly holding Lincoln's sword in her hands. She hadn't said a word since they arrived back in camp, and Bellamy hated himself for being so damn useless. He remembered the scene clearly, where one moment all the villagers were down on the floor, sobbing, weak and helpless. Yet all Kova had to do was yell something, and all of them stood up, revenge and hatred in their eyes, as if Bellamy and his group killed all those people. He had never seen, nor expected anything like that in his life, and it made him nauseous just thinking about all the trauma they were just put through.

"Chancellor." Major Byrne's voice came from the opening of the tent, but she didn't enter. Her voice snapped everyone out of their thoughts. "There's movement in the woods."

"Grounders?"

"Unsure. Seems like one man-"

"Help!"

The heavy boots of the guards outside the tent pounded against the dirt. Abby ran out of the tent while the others stayed behind.

"Help, please!"

"Stay here Chancellor!" One guard stayed back with Abby. Whoever was in all that foliage couldn't be seen from the small hill, and the other guards headed out of the fence, guns up and ready. "Show us your hands!"

Two hands pop up, and next was a familiar face.

"Thelonious." Abby murmured under her breath, just as Jaha fell upon his knees in front of the guards, who had lowered their weapons. He was bruised and bleeding, cuts across his forehead and his left cheek was swollen.

"I have a message from the commander. Leave or die, we have two days."


	8. to stop a war

**Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

"It's a very difficult decision to make." Jaha's voice boomed over the crowd, unwavering with years of natural authority behind it. "But the time has come for each and every one of us to ask. Will this be the way our people end? Did we come all this way just to die tomorrow?" A silence fell over the crowd, not one of agreement, but of doubt. Would they actually die tomorrow? Don't they have some sort of fighting chance? "Because if we're not gone by the time that sun rises, that is exactly what will happen."

The fresh oxygen entering Abby's lungs were just another reminder of what was to come. "No decision has been made yet. While we sort this out, please report to your station supervisor, and gather emergency supplies."

And with that, she and Jaha headed back inside without another glance to the crowd. It was all they could do for now, while they would talk about the different options they had. Whatever Jaha had told Abby, it must've terrified her to make such a vague announcement. It also meant that, assuming Jaha knew his son Wells was alive in the Mountain, he didn't care for the 48 that were locked up. Clarke only took two steps forward before she felt a hand planted on her shoulder. She turned around, ready to push the hand off only to face Bellamy. "Hey. Where have you been?" She hadn't seen him since the fog.

"Long story. You need to come with me right now to the drop ship."

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain on the way. Bring your med kit and meet me at Raven's gate."

* * *

 **Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Delinquents' Campsite**

The hatch to the top of the dropship had crusted on the edges, making it difficult to open for Clarke. She slammed her shoulder against it and dropped her med kit on the floor first, then pulled herself through. If she hadn't been sitting, she would've accidentally jumped off the ladder in fright after hearing such a loud shout of pain and anger from behind. She first saw a Reaper straining against his bound feet and arms, and it was only when the light hit him better did she realize-

"Lincoln?"

"Can you help him?" Octavia's weak voice came from the corner farthest from him. She was huddled, her arms wrapped around her legs and cringing with every ungodly screech that came from Lincoln's mouth. Blood and dirt stained his clothes, and Clarke briefly wondered if he attacked someone.

"I can't believe we're back here again."

"It's okay, I know."

Clarke stepped closer and flinched when Lincoln tried to get closer, gurgling and foaming at the mouth. "I knew Mount Weather controlled the Reapers, but I didn't know they were creating them."

* * *

 **Trikru Territory  
** **Asenek Forest, Survivors' Tent**

A low hiss sounded in the tent, (thankfully) quiet enough that it didn't awaken any of the injured. "Ow! Nyko, can you be more gentle?"

"Maybe if you didn't move around so much, it wouldn't hurt. Now stay still." He shot back as he peeled the rest of the dark, crusty bandage off. Despite his words, Nyko grabbed a fresh alcohol wipe and patted down Kova's wound with a gentle touch. "Have you actually been changing your bandage?"

"Yeah, every few hours, like you told me." With every word they spoke, the wound's clots would split open enough to let fresh blood trickle.

"As much as it pains me to say this," A serious look overtook his face, and Kova widened their eyes and leaned in to listen. "you'll have to stop talking to let the cut heal."

"Fuck off." Their soft laugh contrasted the friendly punch to his arm. "You'll never get me to shut up, old friend."

"I had to try, at least." Nyko smiled, glad to see them perk up a bit with everything going on.

Movement on the bed caught both their eyes. "Do you think he's waking up?"

The blanket shifted, but Artigas' eyes were still closed. It seemed like he was aiming for a more comfortable position. The two adults sighed in disappointment. They had been waiting for a day and a half for the young boy to wake up, but the doctor in charge said he wouldn't be waking up for at least four to five days.

The ground underneath their feet rumbled and shadows dashed across the tent's light walls. Kova and Nyko's eyes flickered over to a young patient who had gotten out of bed. They opened the flaps and caught the attention of one of the warriors running by.

"Brother, what's going on?"

"The Commander wants to set up an intimidation tactic. Some of the sky people had been seen outside of their campsite." The warrior responded and gently shooed the patient back into the tent. "Don't worry, she hasn't declared war yet. If she does, I'm sure someone will come by to take you all away from here."

And with that, the warrior continued running with his group, and the patient went back to bed.

Nyko leaned in close, slowly as to not attract attention. "What do you think is going on?"

"The sky people are being stupid, is what I think." Kova responded with a grimace, pinching the bridge between their monobrow. They took in a deep breath. "They're most likely devising a plan to get the murderer back. Or their friends stuck in the mountain."

"We should go warn them."

"Yeah, right." They snorted, but they noticed his serious face. "Oh, you actually want to warn them? Why?"

"I owe Octavia of the sky people a debt." He murmured as he began to gear up. "This is how I'll repay her. You coming?"

The sound of medical cabinets being moved around and the clinking of connotations and medication filled the room for a moment. Kova nodded.

* * *

 **Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Delinquents' Campsite**

The hatch hissed open. Bellamy and Clarke merely glanced over, knowing it was Octavia coming back from her break away from the Reaper. "Hey guys, we got company." She came through the hatch, and so did another figure.

Bellamy pulled his gun at head-level as soon as he saw the unfamiliar grounder, (he vaguely registered Octavia's panicked voice: "Bellamy, don't! He's Lincoln's friend, and a healer.") but once Kova's familiar form popped out from the hatch, he shocked everyone in the room by relaxing his arm and trigger finger. "What are you doing here?"

There was a tint of malice in his tone, and Kova knew exactly why, but they felt no guilt nor pain (they purposely ignored the sudden tightness of their throat, and the way their heart dropped, knowing they broke his trust).

"Visiting our brother, apparently." The two stepped closer to where Lincoln was, now bounded to the floor with chains and rope.

Bellamy opened his mouth, but Nyko raised his hand to cut him off. "Octavia already updated us." He said as he and Kova kneeled before the Reaper, just as Lincoln began foaming at the mouth and shaking violently. "He's seizing."

"Octavia, pass me that." Kova pointed over to a stray rag on the floor. Octavia threw the rag right into Kova's palm, and they formed a small pillow under Lincoln's head. Nyko had already pulled out his pouch, a small pop up mortar and pestle, and bottles of dried herbs and liquids. He tossed the ingredients without even looking at the bottle - he didn't have to, he knew them like the back of his hand - yet he paused when he pulled out three empty bottles. "Kova."

"On it. What do you need?" They asked as they pulled out their pouch.

"Cilantro, french lavender, and peony."

"Spanish lavender okay?"

"Same thing."

They provided the ingredients with ease and Nyko threw them into the bowl, then began mixing with water. It was a strange looking paste, a dark thick green with bits of purple. Nyko passed the mortar to Kova, who took the paste and swiped the contents into Lincoln's mouth. Neither of the Trikruvians spared a glance to the sky people, who all had their mouths open in shock.

"What is that stuff?" Octavia asked as she moved closer.

"It's an anticonvulsant. It'll stop the seizure and prevent it from happening more often." They all noticed Lincoln relax more, and the foaming and clacking of teeth stopped. "It's usually only for epileptic or chronic seizures, but…"

"We needed to try." Nyko responded gruffly as he topped his bottles and returned them to their original place. The seizing stopped, but… He wasn't moving.

"His chest isn't moving." Bellamy pointed out.

"Lincoln?!"

"He's not breathing. His heart must've stopped!" Clarke shoved her way through, knocking everyone else aside. As soon as she sat on Lincoln's stomach and started the CPR process, Kova and Nyko's eyebrows shot up. They glanced at each other, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

A choking, desperate gasp filled the room, and Lincoln's eyes were wide open, almost popping out of his skull. He coughed up the access foam stuck in his throat and started breathing again, snot and tears mixing on his face. Clarke climbed off Lincoln and turned him slightly on his side to help his lungs.

"Clarke… what-?"

"What did you do?" Nyko interrupted quietly, his mouth still open in shock. "His heart stopped. His breathing stopped. How did you get him back?"

She looked at the two Trikruvians. "Have… Have you tried bringing Reapers back before?"

They both nodded.

"And did they always die like this?"

Another nod, and Clarke's face brightened up considerably.

"What is it?" Bellamy asked.

It was a small, knowing look, but Kova knew exactly what she was planning. "It might work." They said, catching her attention. Her smile grew.

"What might?"

"I know how to stop the attack."


	9. damned if i do, damned if i don't

**Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Delinquents' Campsite**

* * *

The clinks of bottles in a pouch filled the quiet room, following the movement of a bouncing leg. Bellamy and Clarke had already left the dropship in search for Abby and the Commander, and Kova grew more impatient the longer their leg bounced. "Dammit, what's taking them so long?"

Neither Nyko nor Octavia responded. Nyko was busy keeping Lincoln comfortable, and Octavia was trying not to look in his general direction. She only looked when Kova stood up suddenly and headed over to the hatch, ready to jump down and search for the two sky people, only to get pulled back to the floor by their wrist. They dropped to their butt with a groan and rubbed their hip. "Ow, Nyko!"

"You need to be more patient." He said as he placed a cold towel across Lincoln's forehead. "They'll be back soon, so stop stressing so much."

Kova opened their mouth, but the sound of the hatch hissing open interrupted them. Bellamy pulled through first, carrying a familiar double sheath with one strap across his shoulder. Abby popped in next and immediately headed towards the Reaper, a first aid kit in her hands.

While Nyko took the kit and explained the situation more thoroughly to the medic, Bellamy checked in with his sister before heading over to Kova. "Here are your things from camp." He shouldered off the strap and handed it over before pulling out one of their daggers from his belt.

"Oh, thanks. I was wondering where I left them." While Kova took their things and secured them in their proper places, Bellamy sat down next to them. He didn't want to bother Octavia in this state. "Hey."

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"I can't apologize for Finn."

They could see the two medics in front of them freeze and Octavia visibly tensing in her little corner. Bellamy himself didn't seem angry, not even annoyed. At a loss for words, he merely asked, "What?"

"That day, he killed 18 people of my village, and he injured over 20 including my kid. I don't have any regrets handing him over to the Commander." Kova paused as their eyes lowered just slightly. "I am sorry, however, for breaking your trust."

Nyko and Octavia threw a glance towards each other, but said nothing.

Suddenly Bellamy couldn't swallow. It was as if he dry swallowed a pill and it wouldn't go down. He turned away from Kova, just for a moment to collect his thoughts. He looked back to them with a nod of his head. "I would've done the same if it was Octavia who got hurt. Even though I wasn't expecting an apology from someone like you-" that earned him a teasing jab to his arm and he couldn't help the small smile appearing on his lips, "I appreciate it. We're good." He briefly scratched his cheek. "Your kid got hurt?"

"Yeah." Their eyes flickered away from his, to Lincoln and the medics working on him, unfocused. "Artigas is doing better now, but he's still unconscious. His mom's a merchant, so she won't be able to visit until she comes back, and his dad is out on the front lines. I don't think he even knows."

All at once, the sky people paused their actions, as if trying to add up what they said.

"Wait, what? I thought you said he was your son?"

"He is."

Bellamy pressed a hand to his mouth and scrunched his eyebrows, still trying to make sense of what the hell they were talking about.

"Any child born in TonDC becomes the village's child. We all help take care of them." Nyko commented offhandedly. "Artigas is also my son, but he shares a special connection with Kova. That kid loves them."

"I was the first one to hold him after the midwife took him out of the water." Kova's eyes sparked with pride as they recalled that day. "It's considered a huge honor, especially since back then I wanted to work in the medical field. We may not be biologically related, and I sure as hell didn't give birth to him, but he's still my kid."

"Sorry to interrupt, but Lincoln's pupils are unresponsive." Abby stood, catching everyone in the room off guard. Kova and Nyko, despite their alarmed and worried looks, followed suit, ready to jump into action. "Nyko, tie off his arm as tight as you can."

Nyko followed her instruction as Kova, Bellamy, and Octavia move closer to Lincoln.

"Thanks to the supplies Bellamy found, your brother might have a chance." Abby glanced behind her to Kova as she pulled out a syringe.

"What's that?"

"This will bring down his fever." Just as the syringe broke skin, Lincoln twitched and moved his arm. Abby pulled away the needle just in time before it snapped in his arm. "I need you guys to hold his arm down!"

Kova swung their leg over and sat on his arm while Bellamy and Octavia held the rest of his body down, but his entire body began to shake and twitch uncontrollably, until he went still. Deathly still.

* * *

"You're stopping. Why, what's wrong?"

Octavia's cracked, broken voice came from behind, and Kova could not bring themselves to look. For the past half an hour, Abby tried administering what she called CPR, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, I can't do anything else. He's… gone."

Abby's response was a sucker punch to the gut, stronger than any injury Kova might've sustained over their years. They covered their mouth with a hand and turned away. "I didn't want him to suffer like this." Kova's quiet muttering was barely audible, except for Bellamy next to them, who placed a comforting hand on their shoulder. Watching Abby try to resuscitate Lincoln was unbearable enough, but to witness his soul leave his body before their very eyes? Without being able to do anything about it?

No. No way.

So they faced the wall, letting Bellamy watch the scene unfolding by himself.

"He should've died a quick or peaceful death," they continued, "not something like this."

"I know. I'm sorry." The mix of his soft words and his warm hand on their shoulder only helped deepen the ache in their chest, and as much as they tried to stifle their sobs, the more they tried to hide it the more their body shook and just like that, they broke down completely. Tears flowed over their rough, calloused hand, while they other arm was the only support they had against the wall.

"No, no!" Octavia's wails came from the other side of the room. "It's not possible, you're wrong! Bring him back!"

"O…" Bellamy glanced between his sister and Kova, uncertainty written on his face until Nyko stood.

"I got them, go to your sister." His gruff voice was enough to pull Bellamy away from his friend, and he ran off to his sister. None of them noticed the hatch opening.

"Nyko," Kova's voice cracked in a way the other Trikruvian hadn't heard since Caocin. They couldn't turn around to face him, not like this. "Lincoln..."

Wordlessly, he nodded. "He's gone. He's in a better place now."

Those words snapped something in Kova. "No, I want him back! He doesn't get to leave this world first, not without me!" They whipped around as they shouted, eyes bloodshot and watery. It was only then did Kova realize Clarke returned, with company. The Commander, Chief Indra, and a few bodyguards with looks of surprise on their faces.

It didn't take Clarke or the Trikruvians to understand what had happened, and both she and Abby shared the same horrified look. "Commander, please-"

As soon as she turned around, she knew her words were a lost cause. Lexa gave the go ahead to Indra with a simple nod. The sky people didn't have to know Trigedasleng to understand Indra's snarl. "Kill them all."

Kova was the first to pull out one of their newly recovered swords. 'But which side do I fight on?'

Instinct took over the moment they saw Chief aim her sword towards the Chancellor, and Kova didn't hesitate on stepping between the two, knocking their weapon into hers.

"Kova, stand down!" Indra hissed venomously as she pushed her blade against theirs, allowing the two to get closer. "You dare go against your own people again?"

"Abby tried saving him multiple times, which is more than what you or Tristan ever did for him." They spat out with just as much poison. "After three times, his heart was just too weak to be revived again."

"Please." Clarke's weak, shaky voice came from the side. "You don't have to do this."

With everyone distracted, Abby's eyes flickered between Lincoln's body and the electric baton in her hand. She flung forward, catching everyone off guard, and shocked his heart.

The entire room went silent. Both the Chief and Kova stopped shoving their weapons into each other and stared in shock as Lincoln's body tensed under the electricity.

"Hit him again." Clarke stepped forward.

Abby does so, and the moment Kova saw his eyes and mouth snap wide open, they dropped their blade. "Lincoln!"

He rolled over and curled up, practically coughing up his lungs. He felt a hand on their back. "Octavia." He muttered softly.

"Lincoln?" Her voice wavered, as if she were waiting for the worst to happen. What if he'll fall into death's hands again? Or revert to his Reaper self? Or-

"Kova…" It was one word, a whisper, but based on the small, tired smile on his face, and the way his eyes twinkled and softened at the sight of his sibling, Octavia knew. It was him.

Kova immediately threw their arms around him without hesitation. "Lincoln!" Kova sobbed out, grabbing his face with both hands and pressing their foreheads together. "You're back."

"I wasn't planning to leave."

* * *

 **Trikru Territory  
** **Asenek Forest, Commander's Tent**

"Lincoln's recovery was…" The Commander paused for a moment, searching for the right word as her fingertips fiddled with the handle of her sword. "Impressive, to say the least. No one has ever survived such a fate before."

"He almost didn't." Indra's mutter came from the side of the tent.

"It's not difficult, really. We just need to keep them alive long enough for the drug to leave their system. I know we can do that with the others as well."

Lexa looked to the side, contemplating, before she nodded. "You may have your truce."

Clarke sighed in relief, and her eyes shone in hope. "Thank you."

"My side, however, has three conditions."

"We might have some too, but you go first."

"First, if Lieutenant Anya is well, we would like for her to return to us." Lexa picked at her nails, as if trying to act like it was no big deal where Anya was. "She is still alive under your care, correct?"

"As far as I'm aware, yes. I'll let you know if she can return, her recovery might take a while."

"Second, Lincoln must stay with you through his recovery process." It was the first time Clarke had ever seen Lexa look down to the floor. "I believe he and his sibling, Kova, would be useful to you all as ambassadors of the Trikru nation."

"It would be nice to get them out of our hair, as well." Indra's voice came from the side, and Lexa cracked a smile.

"Nyko, TonDC's healer, will come by every once in a while to check in on Lincoln, and Anya if she stays, and to update them on their son, Artigas."

"I'm aware, that sounds great."

"Perfect. Third, since we will fight against the Mountain Men together, we should join our groups in a ceremony to honor those who died in the massacre. Thus, our truce will begin with the death of the murderer who you all call Finn."

Clarke didn't think her expression could change so drastically, but boy, she was proven wrong. And the Chief's little amused snort didn't help much, either.


	10. in the truly gruesome do we trust

**Trikru Territory  
** **Senaah Forest, Camp Jaha**

* * *

"Abby, I—"

"No, I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is why you gave Finn up to the grounders."

"And I've already told you, your people wouldn't have reprimanded him the proper way."

"The proper way?" Abby scoffed, her gaze hardening as she looked upon them. "Kova, killing him isn't justice."

Her condescending tone only made them angrier. "' _Isn't justice?'_ So what would be?!"

Lincoln winced as his sibling's voice grew gradually louder, but the rest of the sky people grouped around him didn't notice him - or rather, couldn't have. They all had their eyes towards the floor, the ceiling, the wall across them, anywhere that wasn't in the general direction of where the private section behind Lincoln's bed, where Abby and Kova argued.

"Answer me this then, Chancellor." Kova practically hissed the title. "What punishment **would** you have given him? If a massacre doesn't justify the death penalty to your people, then what does? Having an extra child? Giving extra rations to the less fortunate?" There was no response from Abby but there must have been a reaction, since Kova continued. "Yeah, I know what your people did up there."

Although Lincoln understood how severe the situation was, he couldn't describe how difficult it was to not laugh at the sight of each sky person in shock. They all simultaneously dropped their jaws, and their eyes widened, but only Clarke pushed herself off the wall to interrupt the argument.

A snort caught her off guard. Lincoln turned his head to see Lieutenant Anya snickering behind her hand, her head tilted away from the group. Before Clarke could come back to her senses, Bellamy placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll go get them."

Just before his fingers brushed against the doorknob, Kova's voice interrupted whatever explanation - or excuse - Abby tried to give them.

"You and your people act like his massacre isn't considered a war crime! But I suppose to you it isn't, as long as it's only my people getting killed, right?!" The entire group froze, and Anya stopped laughing. A moment passed with no response from Abby. "Especially for your precious daughter, right?"

His fingers twitched, and he had a feeling either everyone looked at Clarke or waited for him to open the door. Bellamy's tongue flickered out, licking his lips nervously before he turned the doorknob and slowly stuck his head in. Clarke took a moment to herself to pace in a line towards the back wall.

Whatever he said, it must've calmed the two of them down, because they both swiftly left the private section, and while Kova sat in the chair between Lincoln and Anya, Abby stood far away, closer to her daughter. Kova looked a lot worse than how Lincoln remembered, but he assumed it was because of the bandage across their cheek, spotted with blood.

"Hey." He dropped his hand on the bed, palm up, and Kova instinctively reached out to take it. Now that Lincoln thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time he even hugged them, let alone hold their hand, but he hoped it was just as comforting as it used to be when they were younger. "You alright? Who did that to you?"

A small smile stretched the corner of Kova's mouth but was cut short because of the grimace at the stretch to their cheek. "The Commander sends her regards."

"Of course. I shouldn't be surprised." He muttered, bringing his hand up to brush the back of his finger lightly across their cheek.

"Lincoln." Abby's voice brought the Trikruvians' attention back to the group. "We need you to tell us, is there a way to make peace?"

He glanced at his sibling, who leaned back in their chair and gave him a ' _go ahead'_ nod. "Did the Commander leave any riders?"

"Two." Clarke answered. "Just outside the gate."

"They're waiting for a response. You won't have much time to decide."

"She can't expect us to let them kill one of our own, can she?"

"You had no problem killing each other off in space." Anya grumbled from her bed, flopping to her side to face them. "The adults didn't mind leaving their children die down here." Abby looked away silently. "And you banished one of your own to their death in the woods, even though he was innocent." Anya looked directly at Clarke, who, although tempted to turn away, stood her ground. "Why would the Commander think otherwise? You all should be fine letting him die." She turned around in her bed again, her back to the group, and she pulled the blanket over her shoulder. "Now shut up and get it over with. I must rest."

The group fell silent, but Lincoln didn't mind breaking it. "The Commander wouldn't let the rest of her people die to protect a murderer. If you don't do this, she will kill everyone in this camp."

Abby's eyes lifted from the floor, stubbornness burning in her eyes. "There has to be something else we can offer."

Both Lincoln and Kova's jaws dropped. "You've got to be joking."

"What's the point of giving advice if you won't listen to what I'm saying?" Growing frustrated, Lincoln sat up in his bed and the heart monitor attached to him signified quicker beeps. "How many lives did Finn ruin? I'm not talking about deaths, only ruined."

"23, not including their family." Kova responded off the top of their head.

"18 plus 23, so Finn ruined over 40 lives, and not including their families." Except for Bellamy and Octavia, everyone looked away uncomfortably, and Abby walked away to pace behind the group. "The Commander is offering just one life in return." Lincoln relaxed in the bed. "Take. The deal."

"How could you say that?" Clarke's words were meant to be sharp, as if she expected Lincoln to feel guilty over the Commander's conditions. "It was Finn who first came to offer peace between our people! He's your friend!"

Clarke's eyes turned to Kova, who put their hands up and shook their head. "Don't look at me. I didn't consider him a friend as soon as I saw firsthand how awful he treated Raven while cheating on her with you."

Kova would've gotten the same reaction from everyone by dumping cold water on them unexpectedly. Clarke opened and closed her mouth like a fish, and her cheeks turned beet red as everyone looked at her in shock. Even Abby paused in her pacing. Lincoln's eyes bulged, but towards Kova. ' _I'm sorry, what?'_

' _Long story, don't worry about it.'_ Kova shook their head.

"Anyway." Lincoln cleared his throat, preferring to act like he heard nothing. "He stopped being a friend the moment he massacred our village. The dead and injured were my close friends and family, too."

"But that wasn't Finn, you know that's not who he is!" Clarke argued, still red in the face.

"I don't think Finn even knows who he is anymore." Bellamy intervened, despite Clarke's sharp glare. "He kept talking to himself ever since the battle and he was acting really strangely. He didn't hesitate on killing the kyongedon in the bunker; it even freaked Murphy out."

"This is who he is now, Clarke." Kova noticed Lincoln's grip crinkled the bedsheets as he spoke. They would have to remember to bring it up later. "We've all got a monster inside of us, and we're all responsible for what it does when we let it out."

Kova placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort, which he accepted by placing his on top. "Even Bell said it himself. He's not the Finn you knew."

"So?" Abby walked up to the foot of the bed. "What will they do to him?"

"Fire. He killed the innocent, so it starts with fire." Lincoln answered.

"I'm sorry, did you say ' _starts?'_ "

"They'll take his hands, then his tongue, eyes. Any injured or grievers will have a turn with the knife."

"After his hands, they'll also take his feet." Kova added.

"Oh?" Lincoln looked confused. "For what?"

"According to witnesses and Haja herself, he threw her down on the mud of the pigs' pen, then stepped on her head with his feet. It's already a crime to hurt a pregnant woman, but to humiliate her like that? I'll be surprised if they don't cut his toes off before taking his entire feet."

The sky people cringed, but whether towards the punishment or the reminder of the gruesome event, Kova didn't know.

"He did what to Haja? Haja is pregnant?!" Lincoln leaned towards Kova with every question. "Since when?"

"Yeah, I know! I only just found out myself. And she's three months in."

Lincoln grumbled under his breath, something about missing important information before he leaned back in his bed. "Well, to continue, at sunrise the commander will end it with her sword. But I've never known anyone to survive until the sword. He ruined too many lives, too many families, so he will suffer just as they had suffered under him. Only then will we be able to have peace."

As soon as he finished, the sounds of drums beating in the distance caught their attention. "What is that?" Raven asked.

"Let's go check it out." Clarke left without another word, and Abby followed her daughter's footsteps. With tense shoulders and rigid arms, it was obvious they were still angry about Finn's unfortunate situation.

"I'll go with them." Kova patted Lincoln's shoulder. "Get some rest while you can."

"I'll come too."

They turned to the voice. While Octavia and Raven made themselves comfortable on the chairs, Bellamy pushed himself off the wall. If he wasn't mistaken, he thought he saw a tiny smile flash across Kova's face before they nodded and left with him.

He wasn't mistaken, because Lincoln and Octavia noticed it too.

* * *

The powerful rhythm of drums rumbled through the ground and in the chests the sky people, and they all looked around frantically as if trying to find the source. By the time Kova and Bellamy caught up with the Griffins, they were already sending the sky people to the tents to calm down.

"What is that?"

"They're trying to scare us." Bellamy answered as he and Kova finally reached them.

"Well, it's working." Abby muttered under her breath, flickering a glare towards Kova.

" _Jus drein, jus daun."_ Kova's voice followed the chants behind the beats.

"What does it mean?" Bellamy asked.

The kyongedon took a moment. "Mmn… When it comes to Trigedasleng and English, a direct translation is difficult. The direct translation would be 'Blood was spilt, or had, and must be... returned?'" Kova pressed the back of their hand to their mouth. "A shortened version would be—"

"An eye for an eye?"

"Kind of? More like… Blood must have blood."

"We should pull back," Abby took two steps back, towards the door. "We should go inside the station."

Clarke's hand whipped out and grabbed her mother's sleeve before she could take any more steps. "No, we need to prove that we're not afraid."

"And if I am?"

She sent her mother a cheeky grin. "Fake it."

A spark flared in Abby's eyes, and she took her daughter's hand and stepped up to the gate.

Bellamy glanced beside him, where Kova stood. "Can I ask what you two fought about?" He noticed their jaw tighten and didn't want to press further, but they released the tension in their body with a long exhale.

"Finn, mostly, and where my loyalties lie. Basically, the same questions Kane asked before." They answered quietly without taking their eyes off Abby as she talked to the riders. "Finn was an easy answer for me, one that she didn't want to accept. As for my loyalties…"

His attention switched from the gates to Kova, and he sent them a small nod of encouragement. They looked at him from the corner of their eyes. "Wherever Lincoln is safest, I suppose." Hoofbeats scattered in front of them, and they both realized the riders left. "I'm hoping that's here, but with Abby in charge, I'm not so sure."

"Watch the woods, keep an eye out for movement!" One gunner shouted, checking around through his scope.

"Movement on the tree line!" Another gunner called out and trained their rifle.

"Don't shoot!" A familiar voice came from the foliage line. "Don't shoot."

Kane. Of course the Commander would let him go. Kova discreetly rolled their eyes.

"Marcus." Abby put out a hand, which Kane shook.

"Chancellor."

"I was afraid that I wouldn't see you again."

"I had those fears myself." Kane looked around the camp. "It's good to see this place again."

"We shouldn't be out in the open." Bellamy put a hand on Kane's back, ready to lead him inside. "We need to get somewhere safe."

"It's safe for the moment, don't worry." Kane kindly put his hand down and focused his gaze on Kova. "I see you still aren't wearing the clothes I gave you."

They couldn't help the smirk on their face as they crossed their arms. "Not really my style."

Kane let out a deep laugh. "Come on." He said to the Chancellor. "We need to talk. I managed to buy us a bit of time."

* * *

The wretched feeling of Anger came with the life of a warrior, sizzling deep within their bones, especially for those who committed the most atrocious acts during their time in war, such as Kova. Hell, they even had names for the different versions of Anger they commonly had.

There was what they called 'Wet Anger,' like when they fell to their knees at Mount Caocin, their eyes scanning the plateau below and they couldn't help but cry and yell towards the skies, cursing out the Commander, cursing out the pointlessness of war and suffering, sobbing for the fallen soldiers both Azgedan and Trikruvian, for their families who would be notified in a few weeks that their family member would come back in a bloody, messy box—

Then there was 'Lingering Anger,' like the days after Mount Caocin where everyone was celebrating and praising them on winning the war for their clan, and Kova could only feel disgust bubble from deep within their stomach, and it was on that day did they realized no one would truly understand that _nobody won this war, everyone lost and lost and lost—_

Then there was 'Fresh Anger,' like the day they saw Artigas laying in a pool of his own blood, just outside the pigs pen, bullets embedded throughout his body. Poison sparked in their chest, wrapping and clenching around their heart before consuming them from the inside out, and as they looked at Finn, the only thought on their mind was ' _Jus drein, jus daun.'_

But once all the Anger faded away, all that was left was cold, empty space in their chest, one that couldn't be filled by anything except for Impatience. Impatience always came after Anger, and it was, unfortunately, the familiar mix of irritability and restlessness that constantly planted itself into their chest. Then it spilled over and expanded until the next spark of anger. Another cycle. But sometimes—

"Ow! Lincoln, what the hell?"

A distraction would clean up the mess before the spark.

"You've got that look on your face again. Relax." Lincoln sent them a reassuring smile before turning back to the Chancellor.

' _Oh, right.'_ That's what triggered their overthinking. ' _She's still trying to fight for Finn.'_

"Did the Commander accept this agreement?" Lincoln asked as he glanced between Abby and Kane.

"We haven't made the proposal yet." She admitted.

"But I think she'll be willing to consider it." Kane continued and leaned against the foot of the bed. "She said we have until tonight before they decide for us."

"I just need to know. If we put Finn on trial ourselves, is your commander going to accept the outcome, even if we decide he belongs in jail?"

A chuckle from the corner of the room caught all of their attention. The blanket on Anya's bed trembled as she laughed, but she didn't make a comment.

"What's so funny?"

No response. Lincoln answered for her. "Even if the Commander wanted to accept the deal, she would be dead by morning, and she knows that."

"No Trikruvian would accept leaving a mass murderer in jail." Kova added.

Out of all the sky people, both Lincoln and Kova weren't expecting to Octavia as the most shocked out of all of them. "Your people would kill their own leader for being merciful?"

"Merciful?" Kova's nose scrunched up in disgust as word rolled off their tongue. "That's not mercy. That's being weak, passive. She might as well just roll over on the floor like a dog—"

"Kova." Lincoln could feel their temper rising and squeezed their hand. He sent them a look. ' _Relax.'_

They looked away, pressing one hand against their mouth while using the other one to squeeze his hand back. ' _I'll try my best.'_

"You're all forgetting that Finn killed innocent people. Elders, children, retired warriors." Lincoln continued, his voice serious and his eyebrows scrunched together. "If death has no cost, life has no worth. That's how we live."

"I spent time with your Commander. She's a visionary."

"Kane, no disrespect, but you spent one week with her."

"You have no idea who she truly is." Lincoln continued off his sibling. "She may have been more open to you, but only because you don't know our ways." Lincoln glanced at the bandage on Kova's cheek. "She probably pities you. That's why you're all still alive. If it were up to some at her table, you wouldn't be."

"Indra?"

"You guessed it, _my love_." Lincoln's tone softened as he referred to Octavia.

Kova caught Bellamy's eye and pretended to gag. His deep chuckle went unnoticed by everyone and it took everything within Kova not to smile.

"She's dangerous, Abby." Kane placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If she's the one that's standing in the way of an agreement, I need to speak to her face to face."

" _Pfft,"_ Kova pressed a fist to their mouth, turning away from the sky people. Their shoulders shook as they tried their best not to laugh. " _Bruh, she's gonna get her ass beat."_

" _I know."_ Lincoln murmured back. His face was stoic, but he was trying _so damn hard_ not to crack up with his sibling. He faced Abby. "There's nothing you can say to her."

"Maybe not. But I can show her we understand her pain. Maybe that will be enough."

The blanket shot off Anya's bed as she sat up. Neither Kova nor Lincoln had ever seen the Lieutenant so… disheveled, with her hair poofed up and flying everywhere, oily bare skin, and wearing a patient's gown. It was a shock, to say the least.

"Unless **your** people had a bunch of invaders suddenly intrude **your** homes in space, ravage and stole **your** resources, burn down **your** important collection of knowledge and history, and main and kill hundreds of **your** people, then you can **never** understand our pain. Ever!"

Anya took her blanket and laid back in her bed cursing under her breath, leaving the sky people bewildered with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

Kova glanced at Lincoln. ' _Well, at least she shut them up.'_

He gave a subtle nod.


End file.
